


Life with Olivier

by Chatterbox



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-03-14 10:19:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 76,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3407030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chatterbox/pseuds/Chatterbox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mathieu's mother is in love with Olivier's father and moves in with him, refusing to let her son stay in Lille. Mathieu is far from being happy about having to live in a new city and go to a new school. He's even less happy when he meets Olivier, whom his mother has apparently "forgotten" to talk to Mathieu about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here is a short prologue, I hope you'll like it ;)  
> About the parents: I don't know anything about Mathieu and Olivier's families expect for their wives and children (and I also know that Mathieu has a brother, which I didn't include in the fic) so I made up some names. Anyway, I don't think these details need to be accurate as it is an Alternative Universe ^^  
> PS: the title comes from the Disney tv show Life with Derek (I'm not even ashamed xD).

*Flashback*

"Mathieu, honey, I’ve gotta talk to you", his mother told him when he came back from school that day. 

She seemed a bit nervous but Mathieu paid no attention to it, replying:

"Sure, what is it?" 

Her mother sighed and took his hands in hers. At that point Mathieu had understood that what her mother had to say wasn’t going to make him happy, and that was an understatement. 

"What is it mom? You’re scaring me…" Mathieu asked urgently.

"You know that Samuel and I have become serious now…"

"Yeah… What about it?" Mathieu replied warily. 

He hated talking about his mother boyfriend, because he hated the fact that his mother had a boyfriend. The guy was probably decent (he couldn’t know, he hadn’t met him yet), but he still didn’t want him in his life. He didn’t say anything about it to his mom because it would have been selfish. Her mother had the right to have a love life… Mathieu just didn’t feel the need to hear about it. That was why he never went with her when she was visiting her boyfriend, even if he had a nice house in Southern France, where summer was far hotter and sunnier than where his mother and he lived. 

"Well… I’m moving away… to live with him. And you’re coming with me." 

*Flashback end*

That sentence had felt like it was putting an end to Mathieu’s life. He had protested vigorously and had pleaded his mother not to do that, to let him live here on his own, saying that his best friend Yohan would probably not mind letting him crash at his house. However, nothing had worked, and now they had to leave. 

Yohan was hugging him tight, whispering in his ear that he would be alright, and that they would call each other all the time, but it did nothing to alleviate Mathieu’s anguish. 

"I don’t want to go Yo’…"

"I know, I don’t want you to go either", Yohan simply replied, still hugging his best friend. 

Mathieu noticed he was crying and rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Don’t cry, else I’m gonna cry too."

"As if, I’ve never even seen you cry. And I’ve known you for… like… all my life", Yohan laughed through his tears. 

Mathieu’s mother interrupted them once she was done putting their things in the car, informing Mathieu that it was time to go. He answered nothing and just hugged Yohan one more time before letting go and following his mother wordlessly. He had been ignoring her since he knew they would be moving away anyway. The ten-hour drive from Lille to Montpellier would surely be nice… 

He put his earphones on and stared pointedly out the window, texting Yohan from time to time. At least his mother had accepted to stay in Lille for the summer. The negative point, however, was that Mathieu had to start his last year of high school in a few days, in a new school, as well as getting used to a whole new life (a new life he didn’t want, by the way, in case it wasn’t clear yet). 

When they arrived, Mathieu was in a sour mood (as he always was these days): they had to get up early to finish packing and had been on the road all day. In addition, the inside of their car had felt like a fucking oven since they had passed Lyon. Heat wasn’t Mathieu’s thing, he wasn’t used to it. 

"Mathieu", his mother called out to him before he went out of the car, "be nice to Samuel would you? I can get that you’re mad at me, but don’t blame him for the choice I made okay?"

Her son just nodded and exited the car, slamming the door behind him. Marie sighed… It would be no piece of cake. Marie followed her son and they ascended the stairs leading to the house’s (or more like mansion) front door, leaving their traveling bags in the car for now. Mary was probably eager to see her dear boyfriend, Mathieu thought bitterly (yes, he was being harsh, but it was only in his mind, so don’t sue him). 

Samuel opened the door, a bright smile on his face, which was contrasting strongly with Mathieu’s facial expression. His ‘step-father’ kissed his mother lightly on the lips (fortunately for Mathieu, because God forbid he’d witness more than that). The man then extended his hand and presented himself (as if Mathieu didn’t already know who he was). Mathieu shook his hand, deciding to make an effort to be civil towards his mom’s boyfriend. It was only because he hated judgemental people and hating Samuel before he even really knew him just because he was having sex with his mother would make him precisely what he hated.

"I’m Mathieu", he replied, even though he was sure Samuel already knew. They weren’t past the socializing bullshit, then so be it. 

"Olivier will arrive shortly, I sent him at the bakery to buy some bread", Samuel told Marie. 

And there it was… something Mathieu didn’t know. Who the hell was Olivier? He looked at his mother questioningly and saw she was panicking a bit, staring at Samuel as if she were trying to convey some message she didn’t want her son to catch the meaning of. That was not good. At all. 

"Come on Mathieu, I’m going to show you your room", Samuel said with a fake smile, trying to make diversion.

So. Not. Good.

Mathieu said nothing and followed Samuel, even though all he wanted to do was ask for a fucking explanation. 

When they got back down after Samuel had showed Mathieu his room (which, he had to admit, was wonderful), there was a guy in the living room chatting with his mother in a friendly way. He looked up as they entered the room and Samuel spoke up:

"Mathieu, this is my son Olivier."

What the actual fuck?!

The young man went to Mathieu and extended his hand as his father had done before and said (with a disgustingly handsome smile, but that was not the point):

"Nice to meet you." 

Mathieu had never felt that betrayed before. A long time would pass before he talked to his mother again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it =) I'd be very happy if you told me what you thought about it.  
> PS (yes, again): about the mature rating: it's because I'm considering writing some smut, I'm not sure yet but well... ^^ However, I didn't use the "underage" warning because, in this fic, Mathieu is 18 and Olivier is 17 (which I think is pretty harmless underage).
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at "clumsy-fox" or "head-in-rainbows" :)


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all: thanks a lot to the people who reviewed, left kudos or just took the time to read ;) I'm posting the first chapter sooner than I had intended to because I'm on a writing streak =P now I should finish my homework... x)  
> So, I'm gonna explain a few things to make it easier understanding everything:  
> _The Toussaint holidays are the first holidays during the school year in France (it's called that way because of the bank holiday La Toussaint, but that's not a very important piece of information here :-P).  
> _The bac (short for baccalaureat) is the exam we take at the end of high-school. The first part takes place at the end of the première (second year of high-school), and the second part during the terminale (third and last year).  
> _"Au revoir" means "goodbye" and "putain" means "fuck" xD  
> _LOSC is the name of Lille's football team, which Mathieu used to play for.  
> Maybe you already know some of these things but it's hard to tell when you're from a certain country what is or isn't known in other countries about its culture ^^  
> Here you go =P

After he had recovered a bit from his shock, Mathieu shook Olivier’s hand mechanically, because after all it wasn’t his fault if Mathieu’s own mother hadn’t thought warning him her boyfriend had a son was a good idea. 

"I’m sorry but I don’t feel well… Can I go upstairs please?" Mathieu lied, just wanting to get away from everything. 

"Of course, you don’t have to ask… It’s your home too now", Samuel answered.

Yeah, right, Mathieu wanted to answer sarcastically, but he held his tongue. He quickly got up the stairs, not caring all of his things were still in the car. He had his phone and earphones, and that was all he needed for now. 

The first thing he did when he entered his room was dialling Yohan’s number. His best friend answered almost immediately: 

"Hey, I was waiting for your phone call. So, how did it go? He asked.

_Well, I happen to have a new ‘step-brother’, isn’t it peachy? Mathieu replied, in a falsely joyful tone.

_Are you kidding me? 

_Sadly… no.

_Ouch… Is he that awful? Yohan asked, cringing.

_No… He looks downright friendly… I’m just really disappointed my mother didn’t tell me about him. I feel betrayed you know… I hate the fact that he knows my mother and knows about me, while I didn’t even know he existed before today, Mathieu explained. There was no one, apart from Yohan, he would be that open with about his feelings. 

_Look Mathieu… I know that your mother didn’t take care of the situation in the best way possible… But don’t be too hard on her alright? She probably just wanted to avoid making you even madder about moving out… Yohan pointed out. 

Mathieu sighed heavily, knowing his best friend was right (which was really infuriating, by the way).

_Sure… you’re right… but I at least expect an apology… I mean she did hide to me what she knew would become a big part of my life. 

_Knowing your mother, she’s probably beating herself up about it, Yohan replied. 

_Maybe… I’ll keep you updated anyway, Mathieu assured, as if Yohan had any doubt about it. Then, he asked: what about you? What did you do of this wonderful summer day? 

_Well, it started raining after you left, so I just stayed at home… And I might have cried my heart out… But shush, Yohan said, mocking himself.

Mathieu answered nothing, feeling downcast again.

_No, no, no, don’t get depressed on me. It was a joke, it was meant to make you laugh, Yohan protested.

_Yeah, right, imagining my best friend crying is so much fun… Mathieu mumbled, and he heard Yohan sighing. 

_We’ll see each other during the Toussaint holidays… I know it seems far away, but I’m sure time will go by quicker than you think… You’ll meet new people, get used to your new life and stuff. 

_Maybe yeah… But I would have much preferred finishing high-school with you… How am I supposed to go through my bac without you? You’re the one with the brain. 

_Come on, I’m sure you’ll find at least an intelligent person in your new school to explain maths to you, Yohan laughed. 

Mathieu smiled at hearing his friend’s laugh, glad that he had cheered him up a little bit (Yohan had been the one doing the cheering up since he knew Mathieu would leave, Mathieu felt it was time he gave some of it back).

_I’m sorry about having been such a drama queen lately… I feel like I haven’t been there for you much, Mathieu apologised.

_It’s okay man, you needed it more than I did. Sure, my best friend has moved away, but he’s the one who has to start anew, Yohan reassured him.

_Thanks… for being there… 

_Anytime Mathieu." 

After that, they said goodbye, promising to speak again the next day before hanging up.

Later in the evening, there was a knock on his door. Mathieu still didn’t want to see anyone but told the person they could come in anyway. It was Olivier.

Great.

"Hey… I know that you said you weren’t feeling well but… Our parents are going to the cinema and I’m going too, with some friends… we’re going to watch Imitation game… I was wondering if you wanted to come with us."

Damn, Mathieu really wanted to watch that movie… But he also didn’t feel like going out right now. He just wanted to stay in bed, watching shit TV and wallowing in self-pity.

"No thank you", Mathieu answered politely, trying to smile, but he thought it came out more as grimacing.

"Alright… well, I hope you’ll get better", Olivier said. And by that, he most certainly meant that he hoped Mathieu would get cheerier, because the latter was pretty sure everyone had gotten that he wasn’t physically ill. 

Mathieu nodded weakly, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. When Olivier was gone, he felt bad for being so cold towards him. Mathieu had some troubles with socializing… He had never been comfortable making small talk and usually felt really awkward. And, of course, the fact that he had just learned he would be living with a boy about his age who he hadn’t known the existence of before he had moved in didn’t help that fact. The fact that the guy was as hot as summer in Montpellier (which was the hottest thing Mathieu had ever experienced) certainly didn’t help either. Well, thinking about it, it could have been worse: they could have had to share a room, had Olivier’s father not been rich. He was lucky in that department… well, that was what he was thinking before a fucking tree broke his window violently during the night because of a storm (waking him up suddenly, with shards of glass falling on him).

Olivier was the first to arrive to his room (his being the one right next to it), looking panicked:

"Are you alright? What happened?"

"I… I don’t know… I think the window broke", Mathieu said in a voice hoarse from sleeping, still disoriented. 

"Oh my God, you’re hurt!" Olivier exclaimed, rushing to him. He took his left arm in his hands with a gentleness that contrasted fairly with his panic when he had noticed Mathieu had some cuts on his arm.

"It’s okay, it just stings a bit", Mathieu assured, trying to reassure him. He just had some minor cuts… It really didn’t look deep. It could have been a lot worse. 

Their parents arrived only a few seconds later, looking as panicked as Olivier had been. 

"I’m okay", Mathieu assured again.

"We should check there isn’t any shard of glass stuck in the cuts", Olivier protested, come on, we’re going to the bathroom, he said (and it didn’t seem to be up for discussion). 

Mathieu sighed but followed him nonetheless. He was sure protesting would be useless anyway. When they entered the bathroom, Olivier immediately searched the cupboard, looking for the emergency case. 

"Sit down", he ordered, pointing at the edge of the bathtub. Okay, Mathieu noted, it looks like he takes health matters seriously. He couldn’t hold it against him. 

Mathieu did as he was told, without saying anything (but then again, he hadn’t been talking much since he had arrived). Olivier had apparently found what he was looking for, as he was now searching through a small rectangular box. He came up with some tweezers, which crept Mathieu out a little bit but he stayed still, not letting anything transpire. Olivier gripped his wrist firmly, but still somewhat gently, inspecting his wounds closely and his intense stare made Mathieu flush (which Olivier couldn’t see, thankfully, as he was occupied staring at his arm). 

"Hold on, I think I found a tiny shard… try not to move please", Olivier informed. And the “try” part of the request did nothing to reassure Mathieu. But he didn’t want to pass for a weak person in front of a guy he barely knew (and who was hot), so he greeted his teeth and kept still. 

It stung a bit but not as much as Mathieu had expected, as Olivier was really gentle. However, the worst was yet to come. 

"Now I’m going to put on some disinfectant… It will probably sting a bit", Olivier warned, already looking apologetic… It wasn’t a good sign at all. 

Indeed, saying that this thing stung “a bit” was the understatement of the year. ‘It will sting like a bitch’ was a far more accurate warning. Though, saying that to someone would probably not be the best idea so, again, Mathieu couldn’t hold it against Olivier that he had misshaped the truth a bit (or more like a lot). When he came back to his senses after the worst of the sting had passed, Mathieu noticed that his right hand had grabbed the first thing it had found as if it had been moved by a life of its own. And it seemed that the first thing it had found was in fact Olivier’s shoulder… Olivier’s naked shoulder, by the way, because of course, with the incident happening in the middle of the night, they were both in their sleeping attires, and Olivier’s apparently consisted in just football shorts… That was good to know… Then again, Mathieu was in boxers… which he only noticed then, and which made him quite uncomfortable. 

Mathieu let go of Olivier’s shoulder as quickly as if it had burnt him, looking away. 

"Sorry about that", he mumbled, blushing.

"It’s okay. I think you handled things quite well", Olivier said, even if Mathieu thought the red marks he had left on the guy’s shoulder proved otherwise. 

"You don’t have to lie to make me feel better you know", Mathieu contested. 

"But I was being honest. The last time I had to use disinfectant was on the football pitch and the guy I used it on punched me. He felt bad about it afterwards but still", Olivier laughed.

"Oh… You play football?" Mathieu asked, trying to keep an indifferent façade, while he was in fact quite interested.

"Yeah, you should do the try outs, they come soon after the start of the school year", Olivier proposed. 

"Yeah, maybe I will, Mathieu replied enthusiastically". Then, he noticed something felt out of place and soon realised what it was exactly. "Wait… how do you know I play too?" Mathieu asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly. 

"Oh… Your mother told me about it", Olivier answered, and you could see on his face that he knew he shouldn’t have said anything.

"Right…" Mathieu replied, closing off again, right after he had started warming up a bit to Olivier. To be fair, it wasn’t really his fault, but Mathieu was still mad for some unfathomable (and most probably stupid) reason. 

Olivier sighed and started:

"Look Mathieu…"

Before he was interrupted:

"No, save it… I don’t want to talk about it… Thanks for… this", Mathieu said, gesturing to his arm, "now I think I’ll go back to sleep." 

Mathieu went to his room to fetch some shorts and his LOSC jersey (his mother had took their things out of the car the day before, when she got back from the cinema), because he wouldn’t sleep on the couch in his underwear, and then got down the stairs and noticed there already was a blanket waiting for him on the couch. It made him feel guilty for ignoring his mother. He was being a brat… He didn’t get much sleep that night, tossing and turning on the couch. At about six am he got fed up and just got up, put his trainers on and went for a run. Granted, it wasn’t the best idea to do that in a city he knew nothing of, but whatever, he had a GPS on his phone so he should be alright… Or that was what he thought. 

He had been running for about thirty minutes when he decided to start returning to the house. Of course, he didn’t remember how to (that would have been too easy), so he started the GPS. It went fine for about five minutes… But then all he could see on the screen was a mocking “Au revoir”, written white on black. “Putain”, he cursed… His battery had just died. Fucking smartphones (okay, it was his fault for not charging it last night, but he was mad, so he wasn’t in the mood for honesty). 

That was the beginning of a long way home. He thought about asking for help to someone on the street, but there wasn’t much people out at half past six am during the summer holydays. Thankfully, Mathieu crossed path with guys cleaning the streets at about a quarter to six and could ask for the way. He felt pretty out of place while doing so, with his LOSC jersey and even more so when the man answered him with a heavy southern accent. 

"Thank you very much", Mathieu said before leaving in the direction the man had showed to him. 

On the way, he had to ask for the way about three more times, as he kept on forgetting what people had told him (he had gone pretty far in half an hour), and he might have turned the wrong way once or twice before admitting he didn’t know anymore where he was going. 

He arrived at Samuel and Olivier’s home (he didn’t yet refer to it as his own home… yes he was in denial, thank you very much) at a quarter past eight. 

Surprisingly, everyone was already up and his mother rushed to him, looking him up and down quickly as if to make sure he didn’t miss a limb or something.

"Where were you Mathieu?!"

"I went for a run…" 

"Couldn’t you have said something? I was so worried!" Marie complained.

"I… I thought I would be back before you’d be up… And I had my phone but the battery died", Mathieu pleaded his case, looking down. His mother wasn’t kidding when it came to her son’s safety, and he knew it perfectly well. 

"Well you should have thought about it before leaving, I nearly had a heart-attack when Olivier woke us up to tell us you weren’t home", Marie scolded, realising she had made a mistake when she saw her son glaring at Olivier. 

"Oh yeah? Well, maybe you should have thought about telling me your boyfriend had a son before I actually had to meet him", Mathieu shot back before going outside, sitting down on the front steps. It wasn’t fair of his mother to scold him when her own behaviour hadn’t been irreproachable. Now they were even. 

Olivier joined him after a while, sitting down too. When he saw him, Mathieu looked away, pointedly ignoring him. 

"I get that you’re mad at me… but your mother looks really distressed right now… she feels like she’s failing as a mother…" 

Mathieu suddenly felt guilt creeping up on him, but then something strange happened: it was that kind of situations when, even though you know you are wrong, you are too stubborn to stop and keep going in the wrong direction, not knowing how to stop. 

"Well, if you hadn’t told on me none of it would have happened in the first place…" Mathieu pointed out, but he didn’t sound entirely convincing, even to his own ears. 

"Hey, don’t be like that, I was worried too okay?" Olivier said genuinely. 

Mathieu was quite shocked by this revelation. He wasn’t expecting Olivier to say that… they barely knew each other after all, and he hadn’t been much friendly with him. Great… now he felt like a jackass. 

"And, anyway, your problems with your mother were already there before I told her you were gone, and you know it", Olivier added when Mathieu said nothing.

He was right, of fucking course. 

"And why are you even mad at me anyway? It’s not my fault our parents fell in love alright? I have nothing to do with it… I’m in the same situation as you are. Sure, I got better off, but I didn’t ask for it", he then continued, getting a bit worked up over it. 

Again, he was right. Mathieu was feeling really guilty by now. His eyes were fixed upon the ground and he was fidgeting, but he was still not saying anything. 

Olivier waited a few seconds and then, seeing as Mathieu wasn’t replying, he said:

"That’s it, keep being stubborn", before getting up. 

Mathieu held him back, catching his arm:

"Wait… You’re right… I… I’m sorry", he apologised, embarrassed. 

Olivier stayed silent for about two seconds (for suspense or something?) and then told him with a smile:

"Apology accepted. Shall we go back inside?"

Mathieu nodded slowly, a bit dazed. Well, the guy surely wasn’t vindictive. Olivier pulled him up by the hand, helping him getting up, and Mathieu was glad because his legs hurt from his morning run, as he hadn’t taken the time to stretch. 

Mathieu’s mother looked relieved when he got back inside, but nor she nor Mathieu said anything to each other. He knew he couldn’t stay mad at her forever, but he didn’t know what to tell her… these situations were awkward. 

"Mathieu, we moved your bed to Olivier’s room… you know, until we get the window fixed", Samuel informed. 

"Oh… Okay, thanks", Mathieu replied as if it were no big deal, while in fact what he was thinking was: “Damn, is this some kind of conspiration?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it =)  
> Oh, and I hope my English is decent... 
> 
> Have a nice day (or night) guys =D


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all: thanks for the kudos and reviews: you are the best ;) 
> 
> Notes about the French terms used:  
> Pain au chocolat/chocolatine: this is a French pastry... a bit like a croissant but rectangular and there's chocolate in it (it's fucking yummy =P), and it's called pain au chocolat in the North and chocolatine in the South... Don't ask me why, I've got no idea xD  
> Chocapic is a brand of cereals (chocolate flavoured petals).  
> Première: second year of high-school in France (yeah, the name makes no sense because we have a really weird way of counting years in the French scholar system lol). After the summer holidays, the first years are the first to go back to school in the morning, then there are the second years in the afternoon, and the third years on the following day (so Mathieu will go back to school a day after Olivier).  
> The thing about 'sections' : in France, you have to choose a section at the end of the seconde (first year of high school, again it makes no sense), either scientific, literary or economic (if anyone has questions about that, or about anything else by the way, feel free to ask).

When they were eating breakfast, Mathieu was texting Yohan, keeping his phone under the table as his mother hated it when he used his phone during meals. It was no problem anyway: he had mastered the art of texting without looking thanks to school (and, most of all, boring lessons). 

From: Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
‘You’ll never guess what happened’

From: Yohan  
To: Mathieu  
‘No, what? Was your step-father taken away by aliens?’

From: Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
Ah ah x’D That would have been something :’)  
‘No, the thing is I’m gonna have to share a room with my step-brother.’

From: Yohan  
To: Mathieu  
‘I hope he doesn’t snore =P’

From: Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
‘I think it’s going to be the least of my problems, mate.’

From: Yohan  
To: Mathieu  
‘What do you mean? :-o’

Mathieu was going to answer but he noticed the kitchen was a bit too silent and looked up from his phone. His mother was looking at him sternly, her arms crossed on her chest. Oops, his technique wasn’t perfect yet, it seemed. 

“Mathieu, put that phone away right now.” She said.

He wanted to protest but thought better of it: no need making things worse with his mother. The situation was already complicated enough. He put the phone on the table and said nothing, waiting for her mother to continue (she did look like she had something else to tell him).

“Now, I’m gonna ask for the third time: do you want some coffee or not?”

Mathieu tried to look contrite and hoped it was working as he answered:

“Yes, please”

Coffee was a good idea considering he hadn’t slept much that night. He put a sugar in his cup (else he wouldn’t even be able to drink half of it), and drank quickly, not caring that it was steaming: the quicker he was finished with breakfast, the better. He also ate a pain au chocolat (which was called chocolatine around here, but whatever), which he had to admit was nice as he usually went with just Chocapic or something similar at home… well in Lille. THIS was supposed to be his home now, and he’d better stop leaving in the past, even though it was proving to be difficult. 

After he had finished eating (swallowing would have been more accurate to describe it) his breakfast, Mathieu went upstairs to take a shower, which he would have liked doing before, but he hadn’t have time. He also replied to Yohan’s text, which his mother had prevented him from doing earlier. 

From: Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
‘I mean he’s hot as hell 0_o’

Yohan was the only one who knew he was gay, so he felt free to tell him about how attractive he found his step-brother was. 

From: Yohan  
To: Mathieu  
‘And how is that a problem? ^^’

From Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
‘He is my step-brother, duh’ (technically he wasn’t, as Marie and Samuel weren’t married, but he could has well be).

Mathieu replied before getting into the shower cubicle. He didn’t know how long his shower lasted, but he suspected it was a bit (a lot) too long when the water turned cold. It had felt so good to just relax under the hot spray that he had lost himself in the feeling and hadn’t realised how much time had passed. There was a knock on the door and a voice (Olivier’s voice), asking him if he was alright.

“Mh, yeah, I’m fine, I just lost track of time…” He replied.

“Okay then” Olivier said back, sounding reassured. Mathieu liked that it was easy determining what Olivier was feeling, you could see it in his expressions and you could even hear it in his voice. Mathieu, on the other hand, must not have been that easy to read, and he was glad about that. Unreadable was what he went for… He had always been shy and the fact he was hiding his homosexuality didn’t help in that department. 

When he went out of the shower, Mathieu saw he had a new text from Yohan. 

From: Yohan  
To: Mathieu  
‘It’s not as if you had the same blood, or even as if you had been raised together. You just met, so I don’t see where the problem is with finding him attractive’

Mathieu sighed and started typing his reply.

From: Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
‘It would be awkward if anything happened, we live in the same house and our parents are together for God’s sake… imagine how they would react. My mother doesn’t even know about me being gay…’

He didn’t know why he was talking about that to Yohan when he didn’t thing he stood a chance with Olivier anyway. Seriously, he didn’t even know if Oliver was attracted to men, and the guy was gorgeous. Mathieu felt so out of his league that he didn’t even need the fact Olivier was his step-brother as an argument to deter him from trying anything. 

From: Yohan  
To: Mathieu  
‘About that, don’t you think it’s time you told her about it?’

From: Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
‘Of course I think it’s time… but it’s hard.’

From: Yohan  
To: Mathieu  
‘=/ I’m here for you if you need to talk about it…’

From: Mathieu  
To: Yohan  
‘Thanks ;)’

Mathieu kept thinking about what Yohan had said while dressing. Sure he should tell his mother about him being gay… he couldn’t keep it from her forever, but he was afraid of her reaction. What if she rejected him? He couldn’t risk that… she was the only close family he had, as he had never known his father. 

Mathieu had used the bathroom adjoined to Olivier’s room (which was now also his own), so that when he went out, he found Olivier lying down on his bed, typing on his phone. 

“You took fucking forever in there, man” Olivier said as a matter of fact.

“Sorry…” Mathieu simply replied.

“No it’s okay, I was just worried that you had fainted or something” Olivier told him.

Mathieu smiled embarrassedly but said nothing, sitting down on his own bed and wondering what he could do. He’d be going back to school in two days, and instead of enjoying one of his last days of summer, Mathieu was in his room, not knowing how to spend his time as he was in a city the only person his age he knew was his (kinda)step-brother. And, even if he had decided to be nicer to Olivier, he didn’t really imagine himself asking him to do something together today. He was nearly certain this would be the mother of all things awkward.

Then again, he didn’t feel like going out alone (he didn’t need a replay of what happened in the morning), and going back downstairs wasn’t an option either, as he would have to see his mother and her boyfriend being all lovey-dovey. Thanks but no thanks. So, he just went for watching a movie on his computer. 

Olivier was still beside him, lounging on his bed. After a while, he asked him something which Mathieu didn’t catch because of his earphones, so he took them off and looked at him questioningly so he would repeat himself.

“I was just asking what you were watching” Olivier said with a smile. Did that guy ever stop smiling?

“Oh… well it’s just… Despicable me” Mathieu replied, blushing bright red. He should have lied…

“The first one?” He asked. 

“Er… No… The second one” Mathieu answered, a bit surprised at the question.

“Cool. Can I watch with you?” Olivier asked as if it wasn’t surprising at all that two guys who were around eighteen would watch an animated movie together. And maybe it wasn’t after all… Mathieu didn’t go around asking people if they liked animated movies. 

“Yeah, sure” Mathieu agreed, plugging his earphones out.

“Wait, I’ve got a cable to connect computers to the flat screen” Olivier said, getting up and setting the movie up. Then, he got back to his bed and lied down again, hitting the play button on the TV remote. 

“Don’t you want to… watch it from the beginning?” Mathieu asked as Olivier let the movie continue from where Mathieu had stopped it.

“Nah, it’s okay, I’ve already seen it” Olivier said without an ounce of embarrassment, unlike Mathieu earlier.

“Oh… okay” Mathieu replied, the corner of his lip twitching up in a half-smile. 

About halfway through the movie, as Mathieu and Olivier were laughing like children at the mignons’ shenanigans, Samuel knocked on their door and opened it slightly to tell them lunch would be ready in a few, looking a bit dumbfounded at the scene he had stumbled on. 

*Samuel’s point of view*

When he entered the kitchen, Samuel told Marie what he had seen. And when he saw how happy she looked at hearing that Mathieu had stopped brooding, at least for a while, and was having some bonding time with Olivier, he thought that postponing the window-fixing for as long as possible might be a good idea…

His evil mind-planning was interrupted by the arrival of the boys, who sat down at the kitchen table, on which Marie had just put the food. 

Mathieu still wasn’t talking much, but he looked more relaxed, which must have been a positive sign. However, that was until Olivier complimented Marie on the food, getting a bright smile in return.

“Thank you sweetie” she replied, ruffling his hair. 

Mathieu looked down at that, pushing his food around with his fork, not eating anymore. 

Well done Olivier, his father thought. Way to make Mathieu feel like his mother is getting along better with you than with her own son. Of course, Samuel knew Olivier meant nothing of it and didn’t want to cause trouble, but he was just gauche sometimes. He was still young after all. 

“Hey Olivier, if you haven’t got anything planned yet, you could maybe show Mathieu around this afternoon?” He asked, to divert Mathieu’s attention from the scene.

Olivier looked a bit taken aback at the sudden suggestion, but replied positively nonetheless:

“Sure, if Mathieu’s alright with it” 

Mathieu looked up at that and simply said yes, not being a man of many words. To his credit, he did offer a small smile to show he appreciated it (or he was trying to, whatever).

*Back to Mathieu’s point of view*

Once they were back in their room, he asked Olivier if he wanted to watch the end of the movie before they left:

“Yeah, that’d be better I suppose. It’s pretty hot outside at this time of day anyway, it’s probably not a good idea to walk around the city right now” he answered, and Mathieu couldn’t help but think that what Olivier was referring to as ‘pretty hot’ was what he was considering ‘boiling hot’. 

Now that he thought about it, Mathieu remembered his mother had told him Samuel didn’t come from Southern France but from somewhere in Savoy, but he didn’t know if Olivier was born there as well or not. Anyway, Mathieu was pretty sure people from Savoy were more used to hot summers than people from Northern France because, even if their winters were really cold and snowy, they had quite hot and sunny weather during summer whereas where Mathieu used to live it was windy and rainy (all seasons alike, by the way). 

“Alright then” Mathieu replied, sitting down on his bed.

They watched the end of the movie and Mathieu felt surprisingly good compared to his grumpy and brooding mood of the last few days. Just sitting there watching something with Olivier felt comfortable, and Mathieu rarely felt comfortable around people he didn’t know. He kept throwing glances at Olivier when he laughed without realising it… there was just something mesmerizing about it. 

Afterwards, they went out as they had planned so Olivier could show a bit of the city to Mathieu. Olivier was fun to be around. This guy was so friendly… it was as if he were everything Mathieu wasn’t: he was outgoing, straightforward, carefree, tall and muscled (well, Mathieu had some muscles but he fitted better in the ‘lean’ category). By the end of the afternoon, when they were both tired and thirsty, Olivier dragged Mathieu in front of a shop where there was a queue of people.

“We are buying ice-cream” Olivier answered Mathieu’s questioning glance. 

“I can’t, I don’t have any money right now” Mathieu protested.

“And so? My treat.” Olivier assured him.

“Okay, but I’m paying you back when we get home” Mathieu replied, and it wasn’t up for discussion, so Olivier rolled his eyes but said nothing. 

Mathieu went for raspberry and mango whereas Olivier went for mango and strawberry. When he took his first spoon of ice-cream, Mathieu moaned involuntarily at the taste, blushing as Olivier looked at him with a cheeky grin. 

“Good?” He asked, even though Mathieu’s reaction had been enough of an answer. 

“Delicious” Mathieu replied, still a bit embarrassed. 

“They have the best ice-cream in town” Olivier assured, and Mathieu had no trouble believing him. 

After a moment of silence, Olivier asked:

“Want a taste of strawberry?” 

“Yeah sure, thanks” Mathieu replied with a smile.

Olivier spoon-fed him the ice-cream. Of course, Mathieu should have seen that coming.

“Want some raspberry?” 

“Yeah, it’s not like I have never tasted it, but I don’t mind tasting again” 

Mathieu extended his cup towards him: he was not going to spoon-feed him, no, there was no way he’d do that. Olivier took some of Mathieu’s ice-cream with his own spoon, looking at him with a knowing smile. The little shit. 

After that, they got back home, and Olivier stopped in his tracks, holding a hand to Mathieu’s cheek, looking concerned. 

“Ouch… It looks like you got a nasty sunburn…” 

Mathieu knew he was right, as Olivier’s hand felt chilly on his cheek.

“It’s my fault, I should have told you to take some sunscreen” Olivier said apologetically, beating himself up.

“Hey, it’s okay, I can take care of myself, I should have thought about it” Mathieu assured, but Olivier didn’t really seem convinced. “Really… You don’t think you were responsible of getting me aware about the sun’s dangers right? I know I’m from the North, but sun does show up there sometimes you know? Not often but it happens” he added. 

“I think… no, I’m sure it’s the first time I’ve heard you speak that much at once” Olivier smiled. 

Mathieu blushed (but thankfully it wouldn’t be noticeable: it was the only positive side of his sunburn). 

“You’re not gonna close off again just because I said that right?” Olivier asked, sighing.

“No, no… It’s just…” Mathieu started, not knowing how to finish his sentence.

“It’s okay mate, you don’t have to explain yourself to me” Olivier assure, and Mathieu was glad he said that: he was sick of having to explain himself lately. Plus, most people didn’t understand why he was so quiet and expected him to change. Yohan was the only one (apart from his mother) who had never expected anything from him and had always liked him for who he was, but then again Yohan was his best friend and he was nearly as shy as Mathieu was. Olivier, on the other hand, had just met him and was one of the most outgoing people he had encountered, and that was why Mathieu was surprised the other teenager accepted this trait of his personality so easily. 

“Here, put this on your sunburns” Olivier advised, giving him a tube of ointment which he had apparently found in the bathroom while Mathieu was lost in thought. 

“Thanks” Mathieu said, taking the cap off and pouring some cream over his fingers. He started applying it on his face and then moved to his arms (because, of course, his arms were also burnt). It was just his luck to get a fucking sunburn two days before he’d go back to school… meeting new people with a red as tomato face would probably not be the best thing he had experienced. It didn’t help his reluctance to go towards others. 

When he was done, he went for his wallet and paid Olivier back. He tried to refuse the money, but Mathieu put it on his bedside table. 

He didn’t sleep much that night, as he was feeling too hot. Heat was radiating from his skin and the sheets were rubbing painfully against his burns. He got up at about one to go splash cold water on his heated skin. When he lied down again, he was surprised by Olivier’s voice:

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, fine, I just feel too hot” Mathieu replied, “I’m sorry… did I wake you?”

“No, don’t worry, I’m just excited to go back to school tomorrow” Olivier answered. 

“Oh… You didn’t tell me you were in première” Mathieu said, sounding a bit surprise. Olivier was so tall and built that he had presumed he was the same age as he was, even if he hadn’t really thought about it (it was just something he had subconsciously hold as certain). 

“You didn’t ask” Olivier replied, but his tone wasn’t reproachful. 

“Yeah… right” Mathieu admitted quietly. “In which section are you?”

“Same as yours” Olivier replied.

“Let me guess… my mother told you?” Mathieu asked rhetorically.

“She did, yeah” he confirmed. 

They didn’t talk anymore after that, even if both of them had trouble falling back asleep, and Mathieu couldn’t help but think about how strange it had felt to speak like that, in the dark, each of them in their own bed. It had felt weirdly intimate… But, after all, they were forced to live together as if they had known together for years… that was why it had felt intimate… right? Yeah… probably.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did eat mango and raspberry ice-creams once and my friend chose mango and strawberry... It was fucking delicious =P  
> I love Despicable Me and I'm not even sorry for making them Watch it xD  
> The sunburns also come from personal experience because I do get sunburnt really easily (which of course isn't the case for everyone in Nothern France but whatever ^^): I got a fucking sunburn in October last year (and it wasn't in the hottest and sunniest place in the world).
> 
> I'll stop rambling now =D
> 
> Thanks fo reading ;) I really hope you liked it.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support guys! You are the best =D
> 
> So, there are a few things I feel I should explain: I don't know if it works the same in other countries but, in France, there is the first day of school, which consists in students getting assigned into classes, meeting the class' referent teacher and kinda not doing much else ^^, and then the school year really starts. That's why Olivier doesn't have class on the day Mathieu goes back to school, because each grade goes back to school one after the other, and real classes don't start 'till each grade had its first day of school.   
> ES stands for "economic and social", it's one of the sections I talked about during the previous chapter =) I know that Olivier really was in this section, and I put the others in that one too because in my own school, most the football players and lovers I knew were in this section lol.   
> Here you go :D

On the following day, Mathieu woke up early but didn’t feel like getting up, so he stayed in his bed, enjoying the peace and quiet. Olivier woke up around ten and opened the curtains. The bright light from outside hurting Mathieu’s eyes.

“Slept well?” Olivier asked with a smile. How was he already that alert? He had woken up like… five minutes ago. Mathieu needed at least twenty minutes after he had gotten up to communicate like a human being. 

“Yeah” Mathieu lied, “What about you?”

“Well, after we talked I slept alright” Olivier replied. “I’m going to take a shower” He then informed, taking a towel in the cupboard and then disappearing into the bathroom. 

Fuck, mornings with Olivier were lively, Mathieu thought, hiding his face in his pillow to hide from the sun, as if he were a vampire. He was back to being half-asleep when he heard the bathroom door opening, signalling Olivier was done with his shower. Mathieu glanced in his direction reflexively, regretting it instantly when he saw Olivier with just a towel hanging low on his hips, his skin glistening with drops of water rolling down his gorgeous body. He looked like a Greek god. Mathieu quickly adverted his eyes, his heart threatening to beat his way out of his chest. He pretended to be sleeping, which was hard to keep up when he heard a towel (the one which was wrapped around Olivier’s waist) fall to the floor. Oh God… Was he actually serious?! 

Mathieu barely stopped himself from opening his eyes, and couldn’t help but think he was lucky his face was already red, because he was sure he was blushing hard right now. 

“Mathieu, are you awake?” Olivier whispered.

“Yeah, what is it?” Mathieu asked. 

“I can’t choose what to wear…” He said and, when Mathieu opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Olivier standing in the middle of their room, in his boxer-shorts, holding one T-shirt in each hand. 

Mathieu had the urge to roll his eyes. He was asking him what to wear as if he didn’t know he’d look gorgeous no matter what. 

“You should go with the blue one” Mathieu advised. ‘It will compliment your eyes’ he thought, but that he didn’t say. 

Olivier looked like he was deliberating for a second, but then he seemed satisfied with Mathieu’s choice, as he put the other shirt back in the cupboard, thanking him with a bright smile. Olivier looked nearly giddy.

“Are you on drugs?” Mathieu asked with a teasing smile.

“No, it’s just nerves”, Olivier replied, smiling back, as he was dressing quickly. His excitement was kind of cute to be honest.

“Nerves? What for? Isn’t it like… your fourteenth first day of school?” Mathieu asked.

“Sure, but I’m always excited about it. I can’t help it. Plus, it’s different every year: I never know who will be in my class, and which teachers I will get and stuff” Olivier explained. 

“Oh… Yeah. Well, I’m sure you’ll do fine anyway”, Mathieu assured with a small smile. He was certain all the other students loved Olivier and the teachers… well teachers were teachers… some were great and other not so much, there was nothing any of the students (even Olivier) could do about it. 

In the afternoon, while Olivier was gone, Mathieu was bored out of his mind, so he ended up lounging on his bed, listening to music and thinking about everything that could go wrong on the following day, when he would be the one to go back to class. Yeah, not the best idea in the world. He ended up falling asleep and having a nightmare. He was in what he presumed was the high-school hall, and he saw Olivier laughing with a group of friends, but when Mathieu went to talk to him (he should have realised it was a dream at that point, real him would never want to talk to someone he knew when that someone was in a group of people he didn’t know), Olivier pretended he didn’t know him and laughed at him. 

He woke up to someone’s hand on his shoulder shaking him gently. It was Olivier. Mathieu was disoriented at first, not understanding what was going on, but then he realised he had fallen asleep and that now Olivier was back from school.

“Are you okay?” Olivier asked worriedly.

“Yes, just a bad dream. It was stupid” Mathieu reassured him.

“I reckon you don’t want to talk about it?” 

“You reckon well” Mathieu confirmed. “Enough about me” he then added, trying to divert Olivier’s attention from him, “How did it go?” 

“It went great” Olivier said with a big grin. “Plenty of my friends are in my class and our teachers aren’t too bad… Well, you know, it could have been a lot worse” he developed. 

“Great” Mathieu replied, trying not to let it show that he was dreading his own first day of school. 

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Olivier asked almost rhetorically. Fuck my life, Mathieu thought. He didn’t answer anything, thinking that if he tried hard enough, maybe Olivier’s interrogation would magically disappear. 

“Is it about the sunburn?” he continued, “Because you’re still cute anyway” he laughed. That bastard. Mathieu knew he was only joking but he still blushed beet red, looking everywhere but at Olivier.

“Hey, are you upset? I’m sorry, I was just trying to cheer you up” Olivier apologised, thinking he had vexed him or something. 

“It’s fine really, thanks for the effort” Mathieu reassured him, offering a bittersweet smile. 

Olivier sat down next to him, putting an arm around Mathieu’s shoulders. Okay, what the fuck? Mathieu panicked, not having expected it. He tried his best to relax, and to convince himself he was nervous because he didn’t like physical contact and not because he was pressed against the hottest guy he had ever met. He was his step-brother for fuck’s sake. 

“Hey, don’t fret, I’m sure you’ll do fine” Olivier assured, trying to reassure him. “You’re shy and stuff but people will realise you’re really nice once they get to know you. And I’m sure the girls will be all over you, they’ll love the tattoos” he said with a wink. 

Mathieu scoffed in his mind (not even realising that Olivier had, in a way, complimented his appearance). As if he cared about girls being all over him. It probably wouldn’t happen anyway. They would probably find him awkward… everyone would. He was now in full-panic mode.

“It didn’t work at all, right?” Olivier asked. Was he a fucking psychic or was Mathieu far easier to read than what he had initially thought?

“I’m sure it’ll go great” he tried one last time, patting Mathieu’s back in a comforting manner.

“Yeah, maybe” Mathieu said to make Olivier happy, even if he didn’t believe it one bit. 

Unsurprisingly, Mathieu didn’t sleep well that night, once again, and drank three cups of strong coffee in the morning, hoping it would be enough to keep him awake for the day. His mother had left for work early in the morning and Olivier’s father was at a meeting, or something of the sort, which he really didn’t care much about. He was going to leave the house when Olivier ran down the stairs.

“Wait, I’m coming with you” 

“What for?” Mathieu inquired. Premières’ lessons would only start on the following day. 

“To keep you company” Olivier smiled. 

“Oh… Thank you… You don’t have to you know” Mathieu replied, a bit surprised… and what was that warm feeling in the pit of his stomach?

“I know. I just want to, plus I wanna make sure you don’t get lost again” Olivier joked, which made Mathieu roll his eyes. 

“I’m never gonna live this down, will I?” He asked, falsely aggravated.

“No, probably not” Olivier confirmed, chuckling. “Now let’s go, or you’re going to be late. Wouldn’t want you to make a bad first impression”.

“It’s probably going to happen anyway” Mathieu replied, sounding kinda blasé, as if it didn’t matter anymore to him.

“Stop devaluating yourself” Olivier ordered, “come on”, he then said, taking Mathieu by the wrist and dragging him outside. 

When they arrived at school, Olivier started saying hi to someone every ten seconds or so. At some point, he shook a guy’s hand and kissed his cheek, looking pretty happy to see him.

“Hey, Laurent. I want you to meet someone. Here is Mathieu”

“Oh, so you’re his new bro.” Laurent said knowingly. “Nice to meet you”

“Nice to meet you too” Mathieu replied, shaking his hand. 

“Laurent’s in ES too. You can stay with him, he’ll show you around” Olivier told him, not asking for Laurent’s opinion, which made Mathieu suspect he had discussed it with him beforehand. 

Mathieu felt a bit awkward at first, afraid an uncomfortable silence would settle, but it thankfully didn’t, as Laurent asked him some questions, keeping the conversation flowing. So, Mathieu was a bit relieved to see that he was in the same class as Laurent (there were only two ES classes, so the chances were high, but Mathieu hadn’t known about that). 

When they entered the classroom, they sat down in the middle row, and a girl came and sat down on the other side of Laurent.

“Beware, she’ll probably gonna hit on you” Laurent warned him in a low voice.

“What the fuck?!? Mathieu whispered back.

“Well, some people are desperate you know and, from an objective point of view of course, you’re hot.” He said matter-of-factly, as if he were just talking about the weather or some shit. 

Of course, Laurent was right: the girl started talking to him during the break, which, admittedly, didn’t mean anything, but what gave it away was when she started touching his arm in a seductive manner (Mathieu didn’t even know it was possible to make that seductive before he witnessed this girl doing it), complimenting his tattoos. Oh God. This was surreal. 

Mathieu thanked her awkwardly before mumbling some excuse about having to make a phone call. Getting away from her quickly. He decided to really make a phone call then, it would give him something to do until it was time to go back, so he called Yohan who, fortunately, was on break too. 

“Hey, mate, is your first day going alright?” Mathieu asked.

“Same old, same old. The classes didn’t change much compared to last year, and I have Garcia as referent teacher so it’s kinda going great.” Yohan informed. 

“You lucky bastard” That teacher fucking rocked. 

“I know, I know. What about you? Is it okay?” Yohan then asked.

“Yeah, I met a friend of Olivier who seems really nice. And my referent teacher looks pretty cool, kinda old but cool anyway” Mathieu chuckled. “Something weird happened though, I think some girl was hitting on me”. 

“Are you fucking serious?!” Yohan exclaimed, “It must have been priceless” he laughed. Asshole. 

“Stop it, it’s not funny, it was fucking awkward” Mathieu said, but you could hear he was trying not to laugh too. He had to admit it was a little bit funny. 

“It is, and you know it” Yohan contradicted, “Anyway, I’ve gotta go mate, break’s over. Talk to you later”

“Yeah, bye”, Mathieu replied before hanging up and going back to Laurent. Their break was over too. 

In the end, Mathieu’s day went surprisingly alright, and he got back home in a good mood. At the second he came in, Olivier ran down the stairs, as he had in the morning, and looked at Mathieu expectantly. 

“So, how did it go?”

“It went okay” Mathieu admitted a bit reluctantly, even though he was delighted, because saying it was admitting that Olivier had been right (and that he, on the other hand, had been wrong). He couldn’t help but smile anyway. 

“You see! I told you it would” Olivier was positively beaming, and then he hugged him. Mathieu was a bit taken aback but hugged him back nonetheless. He should prepare himself for that kind of things to happen… Olivier apparently was a demonstrative person. Very demonstrative. And Mathieu would be lying if he said he wasn’t in the least happy about it… Feeling Olivier’s strong arms around him did feel nice. However, he felt guilty… he wasn’t supposed to feel that way. Fuck. 

Marie came back home right at that moment (perfect timing, of course), and smiled brightly at the scene. 

“I take it you had a good day honey?” She asked shyly, trying to put their relationship back on track little by little. 

“Yes… yes I did” he answered with a small tentative smile. 

When Marie was gone, Olivier said teasingly:

“Wasn’t it absolutely heart-warming?” 

“Shut up” Mathieu mumbled, pouting. 

“Seriously, I’m happy things are getting better with your mom” Olivier declared with a smile.

“Yeah, me too” Mathieu admitted, smiling back. 

Dinner was less awkward. Mathieu still didn’t speak unless he was directly addressed to, but he felt less uncomfortable, and he didn’t mind just listening and observing. 

“So, did you and Laurent get along?” Olivier asked interestedly, wanting to make Mathieu participate in the conversation. 

“Yeah, he’s nice” Mathieu replied laconically.

“I knew you’d like him. Met any other interesting people?” Olivier asked.

“Mmh, no” Mathieu lied. Well, it was not a total lie: he couldn’t really say the girl who had hit on him, Léa or something, was interesting. Maybe she was, but he couldn’t know just from what he had seen of her (and what he did see didn’t make him want to see more). 

When they went to bed, Olivier told him:

“I know Léa hit on you, Laurent told me”. Okay, so he had probably asked if he had met anyone interesting during dinner just to see if Mathieu would talk about her. 

“Oh… yeah, well, it wasn’t that important” he said, trying to make Olivier believe he had just forgotten, while in fact he had voluntarily omitted the episode. 

“Aren’t you going to try anything?” Olivier asked.

“What? No…” Mathieu replied, frowning (which was his way of saying “why in the world would I do something like that?!”). 

“Don’t look at me like that. She’s hot, so I thought maybe…” Olivier said, looking a bit confused. 

Mathieu rolled his eyes: “Well, you thought wrong” 

“Do you have a girlfriend back in Lille?” Olivier asked, as if he was trying to find a valuable reason for Mathieu not being interested in Léa.

“No. I’m just not interested” Mathieu answered a bit snappily, getting annoyed. 

“Alright… Chill out, I was just trying to understand”, Olivier said defensively.

“I don’t automatically go for it when a girl hit on me just because she’s hot” Mathieu told him, lying partially as, truth to be told, he ‘never’ went for it. 

“So you’re a romantic then? You want a real relationship and stuff like that” Olivier asked with a smile. 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that” Mathieu, indeed, wasn’t one for one-night stands and meaningless sex, but it wasn’t why he wasn’t interested in Léa. However, there was no way he would tell Olivier he was gay. 

“I admire you for that” Olivier smiled. 

“Why are you saying that? You don’t want a relationship?” Mathieu asked, a frown back on his face.

“It’s not that I don’t want it… It’s just that I don’t believe in it… And in love for that matter.” Olivier explained, and he looked a bit upset over it. 

Mathieu stared at him for a few seconds, shocked by what he had just heard. It seems to be a pretty cynical thought for a sixteen-year old.

“So… for instance… You don’t think your father and my mother love each other?”

“No… It’s not like that. I know they love each other. I just don’t believe I will ever fall in love. I believe in love, but not for me” Olivier clarified. 

“Why in the world…?” Mathieu started, a bit dumbfounded. 

“It’s just… I’ve never fallen in love. I went out with several girls, who were all great: funny, charming, friendly, cute… But I never fell in love with any of them. I didn’t even develop the slightest crush. I think there’s something wrong with me” Olivier explained dejectedly. 

“Come on, don’t say that. It doesn’t have to mean anything… You don’t fall in love easily… so what? It’s no big deal. It’s good for you even, it means less heartbreak. Plus, when you’ll fall in love you know that the person is really worth it. You’re only sixteen Olivier, not having fallen in love yet doesn’t make you a desperate case” Mathieu assured him. So, in fact, it turned out that Olivier wasn’t cynical but a bit naïve… wasn’t it cute? 

“You really think so?” Olivier asked, sounding insecure (for the first time since Mathieu had met him).

“I don’t think so. I know so”, Mathieu affirmed, trying to convince him. 

“Thank you Mathieu”

“You’re welcome Olivier”

On the following day, they went to school together. They didn’t see much of each other, as they weren’t in the same grade, but they ate lunch together, with Laurent and other guys Mathieu didn’t know. 

When they got back home after their last lessons, Mathieu was surprised to see Olivier go to the cupboard. 

“What are you doing, already putting on your pyjamas?” Mathieu asked. 

“No, I have a date tonight” Olivier informed with a smile. 

Mathieu was bewildered, staring at Olivier with wide eyes. How had he found a date so quickly? Okay, he was really hot, but this was insane. 

“Well, there was this girl who wanted us to date… I didn’t see the point before, but after we talked yesterday… I kind of got hopeful again, so I’m giving it a go” Olivier explained. 

“Oh… Great for you.” Mathieu ended up saying, when he had regained the ability to speak. 

He should be happy for him, really… After all, he knew when he had spoken with Olivier the day before that it would eventually lead to that… He just didn’t expect it to happen this soon. 

He had just pushed Olivier into a girl’s arms. That was just brilliant.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks a lot for the support guys =D  
> I wanted to post this chapter far sooner but there was always something preventing me from doing so ^^  
> The only thing I have to explain I think is that, when Olivier asks Mathieu about how it went last year, he talks about the first part of the bac exams (because we have some exams in Première, and all the rest in Terminale =) ).  
> I hope you'll like this chapter ;)

When Olivier came back from his date that night, he told Mathieu that he didn’t think it would work. When Mathieu suggested he gave it some time (yeah, Mathieu did that, because he was too nice sometimes… or maybe he was stupid, he couldn’t say really), Olivier answered him that he didn’t want to lead the girl on and had already told her he preferred being friends. Mathieu felt somewhat relieved to hear that, and then he started feeling guilty again. 

The next few days were pretty uneventful: they went to school together, and saw each other at lunch when they could. Mathieu got to know more people from his class… some were nice, and others not so much (it wasn’t much different from his previous school in this department… and from any other place he supposed). 

Mathieu and Olivier didn’t have much homework to do yet, as it was only their first week of lessons, so they were often watching movies or playing videogames together in their room, getting closer to each other (which, Mathieu noticed, seemed to please his mother and step-father… if only they knew…, he thought). 

On Saturday, Olivier invited some friends over to play poker.

“Do you wanna play with us?” He asked Mathieu. 

“Thanks but… I wouldn’t want to intrude” Mathieu replied.

“Nonsense. You wouldn’t intrude. Plus, Laurent and Hugo will be there” Olivier informed him. Hugo wasn’t really in Mathieu’s class, but they had Spanish and English lessons together and apparently Hugo was the school team’s goalkeeper and captain so Laurent knew him quite well. So, long story cut short: they got along quite well, even if Hugo was a bit like Mathieu (that is to say he didn’t speak much).

“Alright, alright, I’ll come then” Mathieu smiled. 

It turned out really well for Mathieu.

“You could have warned us you were a poker master mate” Laurent complained, as Mathieu had won yet another round. 

“I’m not” Mathieu protested, rolling his eyes. 

“Don’t be modest, you totally are” Hugo agreed with Laurent. 

Well, Mathieu was quite unreadable, and he was observant, so poker was quite easy. He knew when to act and when to let go.

“Come on, let’s have a drink, I think we’re all tired of losing” Olivier joked, going to the kitchen. 

When he came back with the drinks, the guys had started talking about the first football practice of the year, which would be on Tuesday, and also about the trials.

“So, are you going to come?” Olivier asked Mathieu expectantly. 

“Yeah… probably” Mathieu answered quietly, aware that all the guys were looking at him. They were part of the football team too apparently. There were Laurent and Hugo, obviously, and Blaise and Morgan, who were both in Olivier’s class. Then, there was Mesut, a student who had only arrived in France at the beginning of his high school years. He came from Germany and had a heavy accent and some trouble expressing himself sometimes. Olivier seemed pretty close to him (which Mathieu was absolutely not jealous of, thank you very much). 

“Great” Olivier replied with a smile as bright as the sun. 

Mathieu purposefully looked everywhere but at Olivier, else he knew he would blush, which would be fucking embarrassing. He didn’t need Olivier’s friends (or anyone for that matter) to know that he had a stupid crush on his step-brother. Because, yes, Mathieu had finally admitted it: he had a crush. A fucking stupid crush. 

Fucking stupid crush which, by the way, went out of hand after the football trials on Monday. The trials in themselves had gone perfectly for Mathieu. He had played with heart, as he always did, and the coach had found him very good, as well as the team members (which then became his teammates). Mathieu entered the locker room in a bright mood, talking with Laurent and smiling at his praises. However, his mood went downhill when he saw Olivier getting undressed. Mathieu really didn’t think he could survive a shower with a naked Olivier right now. Oh my God this was bad. Very bad. 

“Are you okay Mat’?” Laurent asked, looking a bit confused as to why Mathieu’s attitude had changed so suddenly. 

“Yes, I’m fine… Sorry” Mathieu replied, trying to act normal in order for Laurent not to get suspicious.

He was frantically trying to think of a way to avoid taking a shower, but everything he could do would make him look suspect. He was probably being paranoid: maybe no one would question it if he didn’t take a shower, but he felt so nervous at that moment that he wasn’t able to put things into perspective. 

He took his clothes off as slowly as he could (that is to say, without it being suspect), hoping to gain some time, as Olivier had already went to the showers. After a few minutes, though, he couldn’t postpone it any further and had to join the others. It was alright at first, as he wasn’t looking at Olivier, turned against the wall, and concentrated on other things (he even read what was written on his bottle of shower gel at some point… it was getting ridiculous). However, Olivier didn’t let him be:

“Hey Mathieu, your back tattoos are really cool” he told him.

Mathieu, of course, had to turn toward him at that. First of all, it was a reflex, and secondly, keeping on facing the wall when one of his friends had directly addressed him was probably the least subtle thing he could do right then. 

Then again, he could have just turned around, thanked Olivier with a smile and then started looking everywhere but at Olivier again. However, it didn’t go that way. Of course.

Mathieu turned to Olivier and thanked him, determined to only focus on his face, but once he saw him standing under the spray, all wet and shiny, passing his hand in his hair to rinse the remaining shampoo from his hair, Mathieu was gone for. And, being with a naked Olivier in the shower and only watching his face was like having a delicious multi-layer cake and only eating the frosting… Mathieu couldn’t resist, his gaze slowly drifted lower, taking in Olivier’s gorgeous body. Fuck, it was the hottest thing he had ever seen. Smooth skin, toned abs (toned everything, in fact), drops of water rolling down, making his skin glitter… Arousal shot through Mathieu when his gaze went past Olivier’s abs, down to his V, his happy trail and then his…

Fuck, Mathieu suddenly snapped out of his daze and turned the water cold. He needed very, very cold water. Fortunately, there weren’t many players left in the showers, and they apparently weren’t paying attention to the fact that Mathieu was acting weirdly. He had been a second away from getting a hard-on. What the fuck had he been thinking?! 

He only stayed under the shower spray long enough to calm down (and to catch pneumonia), and then got out quickly. However, he took his time dressing, as he would have to wait for Olivier before he left (again: fuck). 

“Are you okay Mathieu?” Hugo asked, being the typically concerned captain, as Mathieu was waiting for Olivier to finish dressing. 

Mathieu had started staring into space, hence his captain’s worry. 

“Yes, I’m fine… Just tired” He assured, faking a smile as he was reprimanding himself internally: it was the second time in less than an hour that someone had asked him if he was alright… People were starting to notice something was wrong with him… He was so screwed (or maybe he was just being a drama-queen, he didn’t really know at the time). 

“I bet you are, you were great during the training session” Hugo congratulated him. 

“You really think so?” Mathieu asked. Hugo was the team’s captain, so Mathieu was really flattered that he had found him good. 

“Really yes” Hugo confirmed with a smile.

“Mathieu, are you ready to go?” Olivier asked him as he was ready himself. 

“Yes…” Mathieu replied, “Good night Hugo”.

“Good night guys” their captain said.

The few guys who were still in the locker bid them good night too, and Mathieu even had to witness one more of Mesut and Olivier’s hugs. It was stupid to be jealous (yeah, he had ended up admitting that too), as he knew Olivier wasn’t gay… However, jealousy wasn’t known for its logic and rationality. 

The following week was harder than the first scholarly speaking. It hadn’t even been two weeks since the First day of school and Mathieu already had troubles with English. He felt like such a fail. He was sitting at his desk (well, more like Olivier’s desk, in fact, which he was sharing with him), doing (trying to do) his English homework, when he threw his pen away in despair. Olivier, who was sitting right beside him, doing his own homework, looked at him questioningly. 

“What is it mate?” 

“I can’t do my English exercise…” Mathieu said pitifully.

“Aren’t you overreacting a bit?” Olivier asked, seeing that Mathieu looked really abated. “It’s just one exercise” 

“No it’s not just one exercise” Mathieu replied, “I’m lame, I’m gonna fail English, and then I won’t have my bac and I’ll have to stay in high school one more year” he said, putting his head into his hands and sighing heavily.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, you won’t fail just because you can’t do an English exercise Mathieu” Olivier protested.

“Didn’t you hear what I said? I’m a catastrophe” He said sadly.

“No, I’m sure you’re exaggerating. You can’t be lamer than I am in English anyway” Olivier joked (only he wasn’t really joking), trying to lighten the atmosphere. Seeing that it didn’t work, he hugged Mathieu, hoping it would bring at least a little comfort. 

Mathieu immediately relaxed, having gotten used to Olivier’s hugs, which was probably the worst thing to do in his situation, but now it was too late. It was so hard to keep his guards up around Olivier, so nice and friendly Olivier. 

“I’m sorry… I’m being pathetic” Mathieu mumbled, his voice muffled by Olivier’s shoulder.

“Nah, don’t worry. Teachers have been talking our ears off with this stupid bac for years, it’s okay to be nervous” Olivier reassured him. “But I’m sure you’ll do fine. It went alright last year, didn’t it?” 

“Yeah… Has my mom told you everything about my life from my birth to now?” Mathieu asked, wondering how much his mother had actually told Olivier.

“Ah ah, pretty much yeah” Olivier joked, chuckling. 

Mathieu separated himself from Olivier at that and muttered:

“Brilliant” under his breath, trying to look annoyed, but he was smiling. 

However, he couldn’t help but notice Olivier was always the one doing the comforting, which made him feel pretty weak. That was until Thursday. Mathieu and Olivier were watching football in the living room, when Olivier had to go to answer a phone call. After about half an hour, Mathieu was starting to get worried, finding Olivier’s absence abnormally long. By the time the match was over, Mathieu was nervously wondering what he should do. In the end, he decided to check that Olivier was alright… his friend would probably not mind anyway. 

He knocked on their door but didn’t get an answer. Getting more worried by the minute, he came in anyway, and he was right to be worried: Olivier was sitting down on the floor, his back against the wall, with tears streaming down his face. When he saw Mathieu come in, he wiped his tears, but it was useless anyway.

“Oh my God, Oli, what happened?” Mathieu asked with concern.

“Nothing” he lied, trying to stop crying. 

“You can talk to me, you know” Mathieu said gently.

“There’s nothing to talk about” Olivier replied.

“I find that hard to believe Oli. You’re always trying to make me talk about my feelings… Now I think it’s my turn” Mathieu declared, sitting down next to Olivier. Usually, he would have left the person alone if they had asked… He wouldn’t even have gone to them, most probably. But it was Oli… and he was really worried for him. 

“Come on, tell me” Mathieu encouraged him, “get it off your chest” 

Olivier seemed to be hesitating for a while, but then he sighed and started talking.

“My mother called… I’m supposed to stay at her place once every two weeks, during the weekend, but she called to cancel… She does it all the time, she only thinks about her work… I haven’t seen her in a month” he said, crying harder. 

“And I feel guilty for wanting to pass before her work, because she’s a surgeon, you know… she helps people… But I get the impression that she doesn’t care about me, and that she didn’t want a child in the first place, even if she’s never said so” 

Mathieu didn’t say anything, because he knew nothing he could say would make it better. He knew how it felt to feel unwanted: he had never met his father, who had left his mother before he was born. So he just let Olivier talk, and then he hugged him. He had never comforted anyone apart from Yohan, but he thought it would do Olivier some good to have a shoulder to cry on. Mathieu had felt better when he had hugged him the other day, it had helped him relax. 

“I’m sorry to cry my heart out… I don’t even know what your situation with your father is… It probably sucks even more than my relationship with my mother” Olivier apologised.

“Well, I don’t think we can talk about a situation… I’ve never met my father… But don’t worry about it, I’ve had time to get used to it” Mathieu shrugged. Yeah, it sucked, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he had resigned. 

“I’m sorry to hear that” 

“It’s okay. It doesn’t make your situation suck any less anyway” Somehow, knowing your mother and living close to her but never being able to see her must have been even worse, Mathieu thought. 

“We should do something this week-end… go out or something” Mathieu said. He wasn’t usually one to party or anything, but he didn’t want Olivier to stay at home, wallowing and thinking about the fact his mother had let him down once again. 

“Yeah… Maybe… It would be nice” Olivier agreed half-heartedly. It was understandable that he didn’t feel like partying right at that moment. “There’s this girl organizing a party in my class… I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you came… There will be so many people that she probably won’t even notice you’re there anyway” Olivier informed.

“There are people organizing parties already?” Mathieu asked, quite surprised. 

“Well, it’s like… I don’t know… an opening party… for the start of the school year, or something like that. You know, some people use every occasion they find to party… no matter how lame the occasion sounds” Olivier shrugged. 

“Yeah… I can’t argue with that” Mathieu agreed. There were some of these people in his school too… Weren’t they everywhere anyway?

Going to that party had seemed like a good idea at that moment… But it didn’t turn out that well, in the end. First of all, Mathieu had to see plenty of girls hit on Olivier (which he couldn’t hold against them, obviously), and Olivier flirt back with each one of them. He was probably not even realising he was doing it… he was just too charming sometimes (yes, it was possible apparently). 

Then, as if the party wasn’t enough of a fail on Mathieu’s side, he got hit on too… Only, the ones hitting on him were all girls. He surely would have preferred a man to hit on him, but then again it wouldn’t have been very useful, as he wouldn’t have flirted back… he wouldn’t do that in public, as he was far from being ready to come out. When Léa came towards him with a big smile, it was the final straw. In fact, Mathieu was sure she was quite nice, and she was really cute, from an objective point of view… but he would really like her to take a hint. He excused himself, saying he was going home (avoiding her once again). He had had enough of this party anyway… now the problem would be finding Olivier, whom he had lost sight of at some point. Plus, judging from the state he had been in the last time he had seen him, he was now probably drunk out of his mind. 

Mathieu found him a few minutes later, dancing with some girl… Well, it was more having sex with clothes on than dancing, but whatever. He ignored the strange mix of jealousy and arousal he felt and went to Olivier, dragging him away from the dance floor. 

“Hey! I was having fun” Olivier drunkenly reproached. 

“You’re smashed Oli, I’m taking you home” Mathieu told him, and it wasn’t up for discussion. 

“You’re a buzz-kill” Olivier complained, pouting childishly and crossing his arms over his chest. 

Mathieu rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help but laugh. Drunk Olivier was quite a funny sight. 

“This is not funny… I’m mad at you” Olivier informed, furrowing his brow.

“Right, I can live with that if you come home with me” Mathieu replied, knowing Olivier was just being overdramatic and that, on the following morning, everything would be forgotten. 

Olivier looked like he was going to refuse for a second, as he was stubbornly refusing to look at Mathieu. However, he ended up nodding slightly, so Mathieu walked to the exit, holding Olivier by the wrist (despite the taller boy’s protests), as his balance seemed far from perfect at that moment. 

He was right to be careful, as somewhere along the way to their home, Olivier nearly fell down. But the latter kept saying he was fine. 

“I’m not drunk” Olivier assured, totally not credible. 

“Yeah… Whatever floats your boat mate” Mathieu replied, knowing arguing would be useless. 

When they reached home, Mathieu told Olivier to be quiet, whispering himself as if to show him what he meant. He didn’t want to wake any of their parents up… He was pretty sure Olivier would get into trouble if his father saw he was drunk. 

Olivier started undressing at the second they entered their room… Right, apparently, he was even more of an exhibitionist when he was drunk. Brilliant. His pants were quite easy to take off, even though they were tight (it was hard for Mathieu not to stare at his ass during the party, by the way), but he got some trouble with his shirt. Mathieu took pity when he saw Olivier fumbling with the buttons. He batted his hands away and started unbuttoning his shirt for him, ignoring his own heart beating violently against his ribcage and his slightly shaking fingers.

“I can do it on my own” Olivier said.

“Sure you can buddy” Mathieu agreed, even though he knew it wasn’t true. He had decided to humour him.

When Mathieu had finished helping Olivier, he took his own clothes off and put on some football shorts (he wasn’t feeling comfortable sleeping in just his boxers when he was in the same room as Olivier). He then laid down on his bed and waited for Olivier to go to bed too so he could turn the lights off. Saying he wasn’t expecting what happened next would be a huge understatement: Olivier turned the lights off and laid down beside Mathieu, hugging him close to his body. Mathieu tensed and asked:

“Oli… what are you doing?” trying to stay calm even though he had rarely been that shocked in his life.

“I don’t want to sleep alone tonight” Olivier mumbled, sounding vulnerable.

“So, you’re not mad at me anymore?” Mathieu asked teasingly, to keep himself from panicking. 

“Nah… I changed my mind… I like you, you’re nice.” Olivier answered, as if it was a totally banal thing to say. Then again, he was drunk. 

Mathieu knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t bring himself to reject Olivier. The guy looked like he needed someone right then… and also… maybe Mathieu liked the idea of sleeping with him (and he meant really sleeping, let’s not get ahead of ourselves) too… But he wouldn’t admit that, else he would get the impression he was taking advantage of Olivier’s drunken state. 

“Alright… Good night Olivier” Mathieu whispered.

“Good night Mathi” he replied in a sleepy voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I decided to make Olivier call Mathieu "Mathi", even though I never heard someone calling a Mathieu that (^^), because many of you seem to like that nickname xD


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot for the reviews and kudos and also for reading :D It rocks!  
> I spent about two days watching videos about Mathieu Debuchy, Olivier Giroud and Yohan Cabaye and I can tell you I found some great things :') including a video from the LOSC where Mathieu is having a fit of laughter and can't answer the interview (I keep watching it since I found it. I can't fucking stop ^^), which is something I discovered thanks to a gif on Tumblr. Bless Tumblr C=

When Mathieu woke up in the morning, he was disoriented for a few seconds. Something felt different… He felt warm, and comfortable and… wait… something was moving. What the fuck?! He was so startled that he fell off his bed, and only then did he remember he had gone to bed with Olivier, and that the movement he had felt was just his friend’s breathing. 

Olivier was awaken by the noise Mathieu had produced when he hit the floor. He groaned, visibly unhappy that sleep had been ripped away from him. He didn’t even open his eyes and just put the comforter over his head. He probably had a killer hangover right now, with everything he had drunk the night before. 

“Are you okay Oli?” Mathieu asked after he had gotten up from the floor. 

“No” Olivier just answered, his voice muffled by the comforter. 

Mathieu exited the room silently, going to look for some aspirin. Plus, it would give Olivier a few minutes to become aware of his surroundings (or so he hoped). When he got back however, Olivier was still hiding under the covers.

“Come on Olivier, I brought you some aspirin” Mathieu said in a low voice, so that he wouldn’t worsen Olivier’s obvious headache. 

Olivier reluctantly exited his fortress and sat down slowly before taking the glass from Mathieu. 

“Thank you” he whispered.

Mathieu just smiled in return, not wanting to speak unnecessarily. People with hangovers usually hated the slightest sound. 

“Wait, why am I in your bed?” Olivier asked, looking confused.

“Well… you just laid down on it last night and told me you didn’t want to sleep alone” Mathieu answered honestly after a few seconds of hesitation.

Olivier grimaced, passing his hand into his hair somewhat nervously. 

“I’m sorry… I… did I do anything else?” He asked, bracing himself for what he could possibly hear. 

“From what I saw… I guess you just danced provocatively with a girl at the party…” Mathieu replied, choosing to leave out the fact he had to help him take his shirt off. 

Olivier sighed, visibly relieved. 

“Okay, nothing too bad then… I’m sorry you had to take care of my stupid drunken self” he apologised.

“It’s okay. It was quite funny” Mathieu reassured him with a teasing smile, making him blush. Ah ah! For once, he’s the one being embarrassed, he thought, triumphant. 

“Did my father see us come home?” Olivier asked.

“No, don’t worry, I made sure we were discreet” Mathieu assured. 

“You’re a life saver” Olivier praised him, relieved. 

Mathieu smiled at him, a slight blush colouring his cheeks. Then, his mobile phone rang, making Olivier groan and hold his head in pain. 

“Sorry” Mathieu cringed, going out of the room and answering the call. 

“Hey bro!” Yohan said enthusiastically. 

“Hey” Mathieu said back in a low voice. 

“Why are you whispering?” Yohan asked, concerned. 

“Olivier is having a hangover” Mathieu answered, a bit louder now, as he was walking down the corridor. 

“Oh, so I reckon you had an interesting night” Yohan mused. 

“Yeah, it was quite the party…” Mathieu admitted with a chuckle. 

“So… Come on, what are you waiting for? Tell me what happened!” Yohan requested. 

“Well, Olivier got drunk, but that you already know. I took him home, and when I went to bed… the thing is that he kinda followed me… so we ended up sleeping in the same bed” Mathieu reported, clearing his throat nervously. He was only met with silence from the other end of the line. 

“Yohan? Are you still there?” Mathieu asked, getting a bit worried. 

“Yeah, sorry, I was just recovering from the shock. Oh my God… I can’t believe it” Yohan replied, laughing at the end. 

“Will you stop making fun of me every time something awkward happens to me?” Mathieu complained, with a pout that his best friend obviously couldn’t see. 

“Mmh… No” Yohan answered, laughing at him again. “Anyway, don’t try to make me believe you didn’t like it” he said knowingly. 

“Yeah… maybe I did… whatever” Mathieu muttered in reply, knowing it was useless. Yohan knew he had a crush, he had never been able to hide anything from him anyway. 

“Don’t be so gloomy. It’s probably a good sign that he wanted to cuddle, even though he was drunk. Maybe he likes you too” Yohan remarked.

“I doubt that… Anyway, I already told you nothing could happen” Mathieu contradicted.

“Honestly, I think you should let it happen… Live a little Mat” Yohan said with a sigh. 

“It’s not going to happen, anyway. Oli’s not gay” Mathieu replied. 

“Oh, so now it’s Oli?” Yohan questioned, and Mathieu swore he could hear his smug smile in his voice. 

Mathieu cleared his throat, realising he had made a mistake (now Yohan would never leave him alone), and tried to divert his best friend’s attention:

“Didn’t you have something to say?” He asked, remembering that Yohan was actually the one who had called. 

“Just so you know, I totally noticed the diversion” Yohan started, “But, yeah… I just wanted to let you know that I invited Fiona… on a date” Yohan said, trying to stay calm, but Mathieu could hear his excitement. 

“That’s great! I told you she’d say yes” Mathieu exclaimed, happy for his friend. He had been after her for an eternity, and no matter how many times Mathieu had tried to get him to talk to her, Yohan wouldn’t listen. He was stubborn like that sometimes… though Mathieu couldn’t really hold it against him considering he was a bit in the same situation (but not really, because nothing was preventing Yohan from asking Fiona out, whereas he had at least two good reasons not to ask Olivier out). 

“Yeah… I’m really happy” Yohan admitted (quite unnecessarily, because it was obvious, but Mathieu didn’t mind). 

“What finally got you to make a move?” Mathieu asked, curious. 

“Hum… Well… It’s probably going to sound stupid but… I was feeling particularly lonely two days ago… I’ve been feeling a bit lonely since you’re gone… but it was worse then… and it was a school day, so Fiona was there… and she saw something was wrong so she comforted me. After that, I thought about how you’d always tell me that she was as attracted to me as I was to her… and I just thought ‘let’s go for it, let’s throw caution to the wind’… so I asked her out, and she said yes” Yohan explained, a bit embarrassed. 

“It was the cutest story ever” Mathieu declared. 

“Shut up” Yohan mumbled. 

“No, I’m serious. Really, it’s damn cute” Mathieu assured. “And, by the way, I miss you too” 

“I’m so looking forward to the school break… I mean, even more than I usually do” Yohan replied. 

“Me too” Mathieu agreed. 

“I’ve gotta go. Talk to you later Mat’” 

“Yeah… Bye Yo’, see you” Mathieu replied before they both hung up.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Mathieu and Olivier just did their homework, as they hadn’t done anything on Saturday, and then they watched the Sunday evening football match on TV, even though none of the teams interested them directly. Then, they went to bed, and Mathieu couldn’t help but think it would be nice to sleep with Olivier every night. However, last night’s incident probably wouldn’t happen again… Olivier did kiss his cheek when he bid him good night though. Was he doing that on purpose or was he just overly tactile? He couldn’t really tell, but whatever. 

“Good night Mati” Olivier then said, apparently not realising he was using that nickname again. Okay… so this wasn’t just some drunken nickname… It looked like it would stick with him… Fine, Mathieu could live with that. Olivier’s friends all called him ‘Olive’ anyway, it was a lot more ridiculous than ‘Mati’ in his opinion. 

Mathieu felt really nervous when the team came onto the pitch for their first game of the season. He was taking deep breath, trying to calm himself down and to focus. His nervousness fortunately vanished right when the game started, as he was now in football mode. The match went brilliantly: they played very well and had a strong connection, especially Olivier and he, as Mathieu took the ball from the opponents and crossed the field before he passed the ball to Olivier, who shot powerfully, scoring the winning goal. The tall forward then ran to Mathieu and framed his face with both his hands before kissing him… on the lips! It hadn’t lasted more than a second, but Mathieu was sure it had happened. When the referee blew the final whistle, Mathieu was still in shock over what had happened and got back to the locker room in a daze. He took an extra-long shower and dressed so slowly that when he was finished, Olivier and he were the only ones left in the room, the taller boy waiting for him so they could go home together. 

“You love long showers don’t you?” Olivier asked, referring to that time when Mathieu had spent an abnormal amount of time in the bathroom back when he moved in. 

“Not particularly… I’m just day-dreaming because we won the game and all” Mathieu said, forcing a smile. In fact, he was still thinking about that kiss. 

Unfortunately, Olivier noticed something was bothering Mathieu as they were walking home. Of course he would… it wasn’t hard to tell when Mathieu, who was now friend with Olivier, got back to the closed-off person he was when he first met him. 

“Come on, what is it?” Olivier asked once they were in their room.

Mathieu looked distraught for a few seconds, but he answered nonetheless, not looking at Olivier:

“You kissed me” He stated. Olivier didn’t say anything in return, just looking at him as if he was expecting him to say something else, so Mathieu asked:

“Why?” 

“Because I wanted to” Olivier said as if it was the most logical thing in the universe. Then, he got closer to Mathieu, until he was just a few inches away from him, dominating him on a height level. Mathieu looked up at him shyly, his proximity making him feel nervous and light-headed. They didn’t move for what seemed like an eternity when, all of a sudden, Olivier leaned toward him and put his lips on Mathieu’s again. The defender froze for a second before he kissed back, losing himself in the sensations he was experiencing right then. It lasted far longer than the first time, as there wasn’t any witness this time, and it soon became more heated as Olivier deepened the kiss, licking Mathieu’s bottom lip as a way to ask him for entrance, which Mathieu granted him. It felt so good that he had to hold onto Olivier as he felt his knees were not far from giving out. Olivier, on the other hand, had his hands on Mathieu’s hips and was slowly gliding them down to his ass, making him moan. 

“Fuck, Olivier…” Mathieu breathed as the taller boy started sucking his neck. It would probably leave a hickey but Mathieu was so aroused that he couldn’t bring himself to care. 

That was when he jolted awake in his bed, needing a few seconds to actually realise what had happened to him (a dream, it had been a fucking dream). After that, he realised he actually had an erection and panicked internally. This was bad… so, so bad. Plus, he was in the same room as the guy who had made him pop a boner. Wasn’t that brilliant? 

He got up quickly after he had made sure Olivier was still sleeping and went to the bathroom. He didn’t really fancy taking a cold shower but he didn’t have much of a choice. His hard-on would not go away, and there was no way he was going to take care of it in a… well, let’s say in a nicer way, with Olivier in the room. 

After that dream, Mathieu had trouble acting normal around Olivier. Each time he looked at him, images of his dream came back to him, making him blush and look somewhere else in shame. Olivier frowned a few times during the day, apparently noticing something was wrong, just as he had in Mathieu’s dream (though he was pretty sure it would remain the only similarity between his dream and the real world). 

Even worse was that Mathieu kept having wet dreams after that, not every night but quite often nonetheless. It became more and more heated, Mathieu waking up right before they got down to serious business, leaving him hard and frustrated, but also ashamed. At first, he had resisted the temptation, always taking a cold shower to calm down, but he couldn’t stand it anymore once he got his own room back, after the window had finally been fixed (about that, Mathieu didn’t know shit about window fixing, but he was quite sure it had taken more time than it should have). 

One night, he just snapped… He had woken up drenched in sweat once again, with a ragging hard-on and images of a naked Olivier imprinted on his retina. He reluctantly slid his hand into his shorts, as he couldn’t take the frustration anymore, and started jerking-off slowly, almost hesitantly. As he was physically pleasuring himself, he was mentally beating himself up, repeating over and over again that what he was doing was wrong, trying to think about any hot boy who wasn’t Olivier but failing miserably. In the end, he gave up any pretence and tightened his grip over his erection, moving his hand quicker until he came hard with a vivid image of Olivier’s naked body in mind, biting his bottom lip hard to keep himself from screaming out. Guilt and shame flooded his thoughts immediately after he had come down from his high. 

However, it didn’t prevent him from doing it again, each time he dreamt about Olivier, making him feel worse and worse, until he couldn’t look at him in the eyes and started avoiding him at all costs… which wasn’t really subtle considering it was hard to avoid someone who lived under the same roof as yourself without that person noticing it. So, he started spending more time away from home, doing his homework at school or at the library and finding pretexts to avoid going home with Olivier after lessons and football practices. One day though, Olivier cornered him in the kitchen, as he was eating breakfast (getting up thirty minutes before Olivier so he wouldn’t have to see him). 

When he saw him, he put his bowl and cup in the sink before going for the door. However, Olivier leaned against the doorframe, effectively blocking Mathieu’s way. 

“You’re not finishing breakfast?” Olivier asked.

“I… I finished” Mathieu lied. 

“Oh really?” Olivier asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow and eyeing his bowl, which was still half-full, as well as his cup. “Why are you avoiding me?” He asked, as straightforward as ever. 

“I… I’m not…” Mathieu started, trying to deny it.

“Don’t lie to me Mathieu!” Olivier warned, making Mathieu look down. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Olivier asked in a softer voice, noticing Mathieu looked miserable. 

“No… No, you didn’t” Mathieu reassured him, adding in his mind: ‘except if you consider being your ridiculously hot self is your fault’. 

Olivier sighed, “Then what is it?” 

Mathieu fidgeted a bit, not knowing what to say. 

“I just feel bad… I’m sorry for avoiding you” He ended up replying. 

Olivier stared at him, frowning. 

“I’m here for you if you want to talk about it” he said. 

“I know… Thank you but…” Mathieu started.

“But you don’t want to talk about it, I’m starting to get used to it” Olivier said, rolling his eyes. 

Mathieu looked down, feeling ashamed and guilty once again (he wasn’t feeling anything else these days anyway). 

“No… I didn’t mean to snap at you… I’m sorry” Olivier sighed. “Just… tell me next time you have some troubles… don’t just avoid me okay?” 

Mathieu nodded, offering a small smile. 

“Good… Now come here” Olivier said, opening his arms in invitation. Mathieu had seen that coming, but it didn’t make him feel any less nervous as he came to Olivier and hugged him, the taller boy embracing him tightly. It was the first time Mathieu was that physically close to Olivier since he had started dreaming about him. Even though it was hard to be that close to him without being able to kiss him or do anything more than hugging him, it felt wonderful. Mathieu hugged him close and slowly inhaled his scent, their bodies pressed against each other. 

“Feeling better?” Olivier asked. 

“A bit yeah… Thank you” Mathieu smiled. He was truthfully feeling a little better, as Olivier always managed to comfort him, but at the same time he felt even more frustrated than before, feeling so close, but at the same time so far away from Olivier. 

The football season started a few days later and, sadly, the game didn’t go as well as it had in Mathieu’s dream. It went downright dreadfully. It went great at first, with an assist from Mathieu to Blaise, but then it went downhill: Mathieu ran for the ball at some point and had jumped to get it, but a guy from the opposite team collided violently (and purposefully) with him when he was in the air, sending him flying on the side-line. When he hit the grass, Mathieu felt a scorching pain in his shoulder and could only lie, motionless, waiting for something to happen. It felts like hours but probably happened in mere seconds: Laurent came rushing towards him, asking him where he was hurt. 

“Sh-shoulder” He said in a weak voice.

Then Laurent called the medics and Mathieu didn’t really get what was happening, but he heard shouts in the background. It turned out that it was Olivier yelling at the guy who had hurt him, the latter yelling right back. Laurent had to run to Olivier and hold him back so it wouldn’t get physical. 

“But haven’t you seen what that guy did?! It was totally purposeful!” Olivier exclaimed, trying to get away from Laurent. 

“I know… But you know how it works: the only person who can do something about that on the pitch is the referee” Laurent argued, still holding him firmly. 

“Yeah” Olivier scoffed, “that bastard didn’t even give him a yellow” 

“Look Olive… I know you’re mad but please… please calm down… Go see if Mathieu’s alright instead of trying to beat that douchebag up… He needs someone right now” Laurent told him. 

Olivier reluctantly abandoned the idea of pouncing on the offender and went towards Mathieu, who was being taken care of at the moment. 

When he was taken off the pitch on a stretcher, Olivier followed the medics and went to Morgan, who had been watching the match as he couldn’t play because of a small muscular problem. 

“Can you go with him please?” Olivier asked. He wanted to go himself but he couldn’t just abandon the match… however, he didn’t want Mathieu to be alone. 

“Sure”, Morgan nodded gravely. 

Olivier thanked him, and then eyed Mathieu worriedly as he was taken into the ambulance with Morgan beside him, before he had to go back to the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid I won't be able to post until the end of next week because I get back to university on monday and have some things to revise for mid-term exams. Also, I screwed up something on my computer so I'm going to have to survive without it for a while, which will make writing a bit more complicated :/
> 
> Apart from that, this is the first time I put something remotely smutty (even if it stays really mild ^^) in one of my fics, so I hope it wasn't a catastrophe =P


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos my lovelies =D  
> I have huge feels right now, because the France NT plays next week, but Cabaye and Debuchy are injured =( and also Paul Pogba and Hugo Lloris and Maxime Gonalons. When is this gonna stop?

They won the match thanks to the goal Blaise had scored, but Olivier couldn’t bring himself to be happy about it right then, as he was worried sick about Mathieu. He had really come to care about the older boy in the last few weeks, even though their friendship hadn’t started in the best of conditions. 

He skipped the usual post-match shower and directly went to the hospital. When he found Morgan, his friend explained to him that Mathieu had dislocated his shoulder and that the doctors had to put it back in place. Olivier winced, knowing this was a painful intervention. The idea of Mathieu yelling in pain as someone pulled violently on his injured arm was far from comforting right now. 

“And… Where is he now?” Olivier asked.

“He’s on a bed somewhere in the emergency room, they gave him some medicine for the pain so he’s a bit out of it right now” Morgan informed him. 

“Okay… Did they tell his mother?” Olivier then asked. 

“Yeah, apparently she left her working place right when she got the news so she should be here shortly” Morgan replied. 

“Alright… Thanks for staying with him” Olivier said sincerely. 

“You’re welcome. I was feeling bad for him too anyway… He’s a really good player and a nice guy” Morgan told Olivier, surprising him a little. It wasn’t like Morgan to say what he thought about other people. Apparently, Olivier wasn’t the only one on whom Mathieu had made a strong impression on…

Olivier nodded and said: 

“See you on Monday” before he went looking for Mathieu. 

He found him a few minutes later, lying half-asleep on a hospital’ stretcher. 

“Hey Mathi… are you okay?” He asked, once he was beside him. 

“Mmh, fine” The older boy answered drowsily, effectively looking out of it. He then asked: “Did we win?” stumbling a bit on his words. 

“Yeah, we did” Olivier answered with a fond smile. It was typical of Mathieu, to think about football in such a situation. 

“Good” he mumbled, one corner of his mouth twitching up in a half-smile. 

Olivier waited for Mathieu’s mother to arrive, and then she drove both of them home. Fortunately, Mathieu was a bit more alert by that time (his mother was already worried enough as it was, she didn’t need to see her son under the influence of whatever drug they had given him at the hospital). 

“You shouldn’t have fought with that guy you know… you could have gotten a red” Mathieu told him as they were watching a pretty boring movie in the living-room. 

Olivier didn’t reply, looking down. He did know he shouldn’t have, but if they got back in time, he would probably do it again. What this guy had done to Mathieu was outrageous, in his opinion. 

“But thanks anyway” Mathieu said honestly, making Olivier look up in surprise. 

“You’re welcome” Olivier answered with a bittersweet smile. He wasn’t in his usual cheery mood right then. Mathieu’s injury made him gloomy as he was able to see how much it affected the older boy. He knew Mathieu felt miserable that he couldn’t play for several weeks, as football was really important to him. 

“Boys, dinner’s ready” Mary told them, going out of the kitchen. 

“Sorry but… I’m not hungry… I think I’ll just go to bed” Mathieu replied.

“You should eat something Mathi, you haven’t eaten since lunch and you had a tough day” Olivier advised, before Mathieu’s mother even had the time to say anything, so she ended up nodding approvingly. 

“I’m just going to sleep, I won’t need much energy to do that” Mathieu protested, rolling his eyes. “I’ll be fine” he assured, his voice softening. 

“If you say so” Olivier agreed reluctantly, still worried about him. 

“I do say so” Mathieu affirmed, getting up from the couch. “Good night Oli” He said, following their bedtime ritual by kissing his cheek. He then also bid his mother good night before exiting the living-room. 

Olivier was eating dinner silently with Mary and his father when the former thanked him. He didn’t know why everyone was thanking him today. Not that it wasn’t nice, but he didn’t think he had done anything particularly deserving of gratefulness. 

“What for?” He asked, surprised once again. Apparently, it was a family thing to surprise him. 

“For looking after Mathieu… I know he can get by pretty well on his own but it’s always nice to have someone caring about you and I’m happy he found someone like that here” Mary explained.

“Oh… well… you’re welcome… It’s not as if I was doing it on purpose… It only feels natural…” Olivier replied. He had never paid attention to it, but now that Mary was telling him about it, he starting considering the matter… He was taking care of Mathieu because he really cared about the older boy… They had become good friends, for sure. And it went both way: Mathieu was also taking care of Olivier, even if it was probably less noticeable for Mary. There was that other day when he was drunk, and also, Mathieu was always cooking for both of them when nor Mary nor Samuel were there, as Olivier couldn’t cook to save his life, whereas Mathieu was pretty good. 

“Still… I’m glad. Even more though because… well Mathieu was supposed to stay in Lille, at his best friend’s, during the holydays… But I don’t think he’ll be able to make it with his injury… I don’t want him to travel on his own, with a huge bag and all… I don’t think he realized it yet, but it’s gonna be tough for him when he will” Mary said, seemingly anxious. 

Olivier’s usual cheerfulness went down even more at that, and he felt a knot forming in his stomach. It would be tough for Mathieu indeed. Olivier knew perfectly well how he had been looking forward to seeing his best friend again, with all the phone calls he was making, and the smile spreading on his face each time someone mentioned the Toussaint holydays. He would be heartbroken. 

In the morning, as Olivier and Mathieu were getting ready for school, the former noticed that the latter was having some trouble with his shoes… or more precisely with his shoe-laces. 

“Want some help?” Olivier asked tentatively. 

“No thanks, I’ll be fine” Mathieu replied, always the stubborn one. He tried to tie his shoes for a few more minutes before abdicating and ending up just putting the laces in the shoes without tying them. He would survive. 

However, somewhere along the way to school, one of his shoes went off.

“See, that’s what you get for being stubborn” Olivier scolded him without any animosity. 

Mathieu replied nothing and looked away from Olivier, visibly embarrassed that he needed help. It didn’t help the situation when Olivier had to tie his shoes in the middle of the street, making Mathieu blush bright red. 

“Don’t be like that. It’s okay to need help once in a while you know” Olivier tried. 

“I feel like a three-year old” Mathieu mumbled, still not looking at him. 

“Well you shouldn’t. Everyone would be the same in your situation. This isn’t your fault.” He assured, “Now come on, we’re going to be late”. 

At the end of the day, as they were walking back home, Olivier asked Mathieu about his day. 

“It was awful. I couldn’t even write anything” (of course, lucky as he was, Mathieu had injured his right shoulder, and he was right-handed) “so I was bored out of my mind. And then, at lunch, Laurent actually had to cut my food for me” Mathieu recalled, groaning at the memory. 

“It’s not that bad. At least he didn’t spoon-fed you” Olivier said with a chuckle, getting Mathieu to glare at him. 

“Too soon for a joke?” Olivier asked, recoiling. 

“Indeed” Mathieu affirmed, still glaring. 

“So, I suppose you still don’t want me to help you carry your bag?” Olivier asked. 

“You suppose right” Mathieu confirmed, determined. 

“Okay, fine” Olivier said gruffly, rolling his eyes. He didn’t say anything else until they reached home. 

Samuel and Mary had to go soon after the boys were back, as they were invited God knows where. 

“Are you sure you will be alright?” Mary asked her son before leaving, “Because I can still cancel” 

“I told you I’d be fine mom” Mathieu assured her once again. 

“Okay… Promise me you’ll call if anything comes up” Mary requested. 

“I will” Mathieu agreed tiredly. 

She fussed over him for a bit longer before kissing his cheek and leaving with Samuel. Olivier then approached him wordlessly, bringing his hand to Mathieu’s cheek, feeling him tense under his touch. He then rubbed his thumb over the lipstick mark Mary had left on her son’s cheek, feeling Mathieu relax as he finally understood what he was doing. As Olivier took his hand away from his face and turned away, Mathieu caught his wrist. 

“Are… Are you mad at me?” He asked timidly. 

Olivier didn’t reply, wanting to see how the older boy would handle the situation. He wasn’t mad, he was just a bit upset over Mathieu’s stubbornness when it came to accepting his help, but he wasn’t planning on holding it over him. 

“I… I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful for what you’re doing for me… I am grateful, really… It’s just that… It feels humiliating not to be able to do anything by myself” Mathieu explained, obviously feeling self-conscious to confess his feelings about this whole thing. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry. It’s just a bit hard to deal with you constantly refusing my help. But you know I’ll help you anyway, because as I said, it’s okay to need help” Olivier assured him with a smile. 

“I know” Mathieu simply replied in a low voice. 

Later in the evening, Olivier tried to cook something for them, but he wasn’t very successful. 

“You’re doing it all wrong” Mathieu informed with a small smile. 

“Yeah… I had kinda gotten that” Olivier replied, letting go of the knife he was holding and sighing, frustrated. 

“Look… You have to hold it like that” Mathieu said from right behind him, positioning Olivier’s hand over the knife with his left one, as he couldn’t move the other one because of the sling keeping his shoulder in place. 

“And then… you cut like that” he instructed while guiding his hand. 

Olivier shivered, without any idea of why he did, and got on with what Mathieu had shown him. 

“Thanks” he said, his voice cracking a bit. He cleared his throat to hide his sudden discomfort. 

“You’re welcome” Mathieu replied with a smile, apparently not noticing the shift in Olivier’s attitude. 

“Maybe we can avoid food poisoning, with your supervision” the younger boy laughed, trying to get back to his normal self. 

“Maybe yes” Mathieu agreed, distancing himself from Olivier. 

The food turned out to be comestible, and the boys had a nice evening, even if Olivier made a small mistake by asking if Mathieu wanted to play FIFA. 

“Shit! I’m sorry” Olivier apologised, realising too late that Mathieu couldn’t play, even if he wanted to. 

“Don’t worry over it” Mathieu reassured him. “What would you say about watching Games of Thrones instead?” he proposed.

“Sure” Olivier smiled, happy that Mathieu was cheerier than the day before. 

They spent the rest of the day lazing on the couch watching TV shows, sitting close to each other. Even though they were having a good time, Olivier couldn’t help but think about how Mathieu would react to not going to Lille. He was supposed to leave in a few days, and Mary still hadn’t talked to him, probably hoping that he would realise himself. However, she knew as well as Olivier that he wouldn’t. Very few things could convince Mathieu not to join Yohan during the holydays, and Olivier was sure that his dislocated shoulder was not among these things. He should tell Mathieu about it now, but he didn’t feel capable to do that at all. Call him a coward, but he couldn’t be the one to break the news to Mathieu… he wouldn’t stand ruining his joy.

Two days later, Mathieu entered the living-room, where everyone was, and asked his mother:

“Do you know where my travelling bag is?” 

“What for?” She asked, even though she had understood what her son meant, there was no doubt about that. 

“Well, because I’m leaving tomorrow” Mathieu said matter-of-factly. 

“You can’t be serious honey…” Mary replied. 

“What do you mean? Of course I’m serious” Mathieu protested, frowning. 

“You can’t go Mathieu” She said apologetically. 

“Sure I can, and I will” Mathieu contradicted. 

“You can’t even tie your shoes, there’s no way I’m letting you go to Lille by train on your own” Mary affirmed, and that sounded final. 

“No… You can’t do that to me… You… You just can’t” Mathieu disagreed, somewhat pleadingly. 

“Your health is the most important thing, you can’t risk worsening your injury” Mary added, “Anyway, I called Yohan, and even though he sounded really disappointed, he agreed that it was the right choice that you stayed here” 

“Yo…Yohan said that” Mathieu asked disbelievingly, his eyes a bit too shiny for it to be normal. 

Mary stared at him worriedly as he fled from the living room, running up the stairs to his room. Obviously, he had been at the verge of tears. 

“I… I haven’t seen him cry in such a long time…” She said to no one in particular, realising how affected her son was. 

Olivier almost felt nauseous seeing his friend like this and couldn’t help himself: he announced he would check up on him before following him up the stairs. He knocked on Mathieu’s door and waited, the only response he received being:

“Leave me alone”, but Mathieu’s voice lacked authority, which only worried Olivier even more. 

“Please Mathieu, let me in” He pleaded. 

“No… go away” Mathieu replied, his voice breaking. Olivier couldn’t stand it anymore and just opened the damned door, going against his friend’s wishes. 

“I told you to go away!” He snapped, turning away from Olivier so he couldn’t see his face, but it was useless: it didn’t take a genius to understand Mathieu was crying. 

“I can’t just leave you like this” Olivier protested, getting closer and closer to him. 

“I just want to be alone” Mathieu stammered, wiping his tears. 

Olivier refused to listen though, knowing Mathieu didn’t really want to be alone, but just didn’t want anyone to see him cry. So, Olivier just took Mathieu into his arms, careful not to crush his injured shoulder. The older boy tried to get away from the embrace, but Olivier tightened his grip to prevent him from doing so until Mathieu gave up and just went limp in his arms. He was finally letting his tears flow freely, and it wasn’t long before sobs started wracking his body. Olivier held him through it, whispering comforting words to him.

“I’m sorry for losing control like this” Mathieu apologised once he had calmed down.

“Don’t apologise… these things happen… You bottled everything up for a long time… It was bound to explode someday, it’s only natural” Olivier replied. Things had been rough for Mathieu lately: he had to move away, change school, make new friends, he was injured and now he had just learnt that he wouldn’t be able to see his best friend, whom he was missing terribly. It was far from surprising he had finally broken down. 

“I just… I miss him… so much” Mathieu whispered. 

“I know” Olivier responded sadly, feeling as if someone were squeezing his heart. He had to do something…

Mathieu looked devastated on the following day, as he should have been on his way to Lille at that time, and the next few days weren’t much better. He was still feeling downcast, but at least he had gone out of his room at some point. 

On Monday, Olivier convinced Mathieu to go out with him, saying that he had to go to the train station to welcome his uncle. Mathieu had been surprised, answering he didn’t know anyone was visiting, to what Olivier responded he would have known if he hadn’t stayed confined in his room. Mathieu had grumbled a bit at that but he ended up agreeing nonetheless.

“What’s up with you?” He asked his younger friend, noticing his giddiness. 

“Nothing, I’m just happy you came with me” Olivier answered without looking at Mathieu.

“Right…” Mathieu replied, doubtful. 

Once they were at the train station, as they were waiting, Mathieu asked: 

“When does your uncle’s train arrive?” 

“Er… At ten to five” Olivier answered, his small hesitation apparently not staying unnoticed by Mathieu, who threw him a puzzled glance.

Olivier kept looking around… which made no sense, as he didn’t know what the person he was waiting for looked like, but he was just nervous. Soon enough, however, it became quite evident to Olivier, as some boy advanced towards them quickly with a huge smile. Olivier was the only one who had noticed, because he was the only one looking for it. Mathieu, on the other hand, was staring emptily at the floor. 

Soon, the boy was right beside them and shook Olivier’s hand, keeping silent. Then, he cleared his throat, a playful smile on his lips. Mathieu looked up and froze immediately as he saw him. He soon recovered from his shock and launched himself at the boy, hugging him within an inch of his life. 

“Hey, careful with your shoulder mate” he advised, hugging back tightly nonetheless. 

“I can’t believe you’re here” Mathieu said breathily, overjoyed, totally ignoring what his best friend had just said. 

“Well, you’ll have to thank Olivier for that” Yohan informed. “I wouldn’t be there without him. He’s the one who organised the whole thing”. 

Mathieu separated himself from Yohan, even though he kept him close, turning to Olivier and hugging him tight (he felt the need to express his joy through hugs apparently, Olivier was more than fine with that). 

“Thank you” Mathieu whispered in his ear, sounding emotional. 

“You’re welcome” Olivier replied as he hugged back, warmth spreading through him. It felt great to see Mathieu so happy. 

By the end of the day, Olivier had noticed Mathieu and Yohan were very close. He already knew they were with how important Yohan was to Mathieu, but now he also knew they were… physically close. Indeed, they were touching all the time, hugging, kissing each other’s cheek, which was an unusual sight for Olivier when it came to Mathieu, as he was the only one the older boy was tactile with… and, more often than not, Olivier was the one who initiated physical contact between them.

As they were sitting on the couch, Yohan’s head on Mathieu’s uninjured shoulder and the latter’s left arm thrown casually around the former, Olivier felt an unpleasant feeling spreading through him. 

“Are you okay Oli?” Mathieu asked worriedly, making Olivier realise he had started frowning. It kind of unsettled him, as he didn’t understand where that physical reaction was coming from. 

“Oh… yes, sure.” Olivier assured with a fake smile. 

“I’m gonna let you catch up” he then added, getting up from the chair he was sitting in. He felt as if he had to give them some privacy… as if he were intruding on something. And maybe he was. 

“You don’t have to, you know” Mathieu informed, to what Yohan agreed wholeheartedly. 

“It’s okay… I have some homework to do anyway” Olivier replied, knowing his excuse wasn’t credible: doing his homework during the first day of the holydays was not something he would do, and he was pretty sure Mathieu knew that. 

“Alright… as you want” Mathieu said before watching Olivier go with a puzzled look etched upon his features, caressing Yohan’s hair absentmindedly, not realising his best friend had been observing the scene avidly.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks for the support guys, you make my day :D

“I can’t believe you lied to me!” Yohan complained when Olivier was gone. 

“What do you mean I lied to you?” Mathieu asked with a frown, totally confused. 

“If I tell you ‘Olivier isn’t into me and he isn’t even gay’, does it ring a bell?” Yohan asked rhetorically. 

“Well, he isn’t into me and he isn’t gay. So I don’t see where your problem is” Mathieu replied, sounding certain. 

“Of course, I should have known” Yohan exclaimed, rolling his eyes, making Mathieu even more confused. “You didn’t even notice did you?” 

“What didn’t I notice?” Mathieu asked, “You’re making no sense, Yo’” he complained. 

“Olivier is into you” Yohan declared, as if he was giving Mathieu an obvious piece of information. 

“Ah ah, very funny” Mathieu laughed, not taking Yohan seriously at all. 

“I’m serious man. He totally is” Yohan affirmed again. 

Mathieu stopped laughing at that and looked at his best friend as if he had grown a second head. 

“You’re delusional Yohan, of course he isn’t into me. Be realistic”

“I am being realistic, why wouldn’t he be into you? You’re good-looking, you’re nice, you’re a great friend…” Yohan protested. 

“Stop it, you’re going to make me blush” Mathieu joked. “Now, more seriously, I am pretty sure he isn’t into me at all”.

“What makes you say that?” Yohan asked expectantly. 

“Well, for starters he isn’t into guys: I’ve never seen him flirt with a guy and, we now come to my second point: he flirts with loads of girls. If he was into me, he wouldn’t flirt with everything wearing a skirt and having big tits” Mathieu explained, a tad bitterly. 

“Okay, you’ve got a point… But maybe he just hasn’t realised it yet… Because I can tell you that what I’ve seen today is a clear sign of him being into you” Yohan replied. 

“If you talk about the hugs and the charming smiles and stuff, then you’re wrong, ‘cause he’s that nice with everyone” Mathieu informed. 

“No… this isn’t the only thing… Didn’t you see what happened a few minutes ago?” Yohan asked, wide-eyed. 

“He was just a bit weird… I don’t know… maybe he doesn’t feel well or something” Mathieu replied, shrugging. 

“You’re so lame sometimes” Yohan rolled his eyes. 

“Hey!” Mathieu protested.

“But you are! I mean, he was so obviously jealous” Yohan told him. 

“What?!” Mathieu asked disbelievingly, his voice a pitch higher than usual. 

“I think he kind of misunderstood the nature of our relationship… and I think he was jealous” Yohan repeated. Noticing Mathieu was still doubtful, he developed: “think about it… He kept throwing glances at us all day, each time we hugged or did something similar… and then he left us alone… and he was all weird” 

“There has to be some other explanation” Mathieu protested after having taken it into consideration.

“Why? Have a little faith in yourself for God’s sake” Yohan requested. 

Mathieu looked down and replied nothing. Olivier wanting him back would only complicate everything… Because that meant Mathieu would have no more excuses not to act upon his feelings toward his step-brother, and everything would be a mess. He couldn’t be with Olivier, no matter how bad he wanted to… It would be frowned upon by approximatively everyone apart from Yohan, and he couldn’t even think about how his mother, or Samuel for that matter, would react. None of them knew they were gay, for once… 

“Except if… in fact… You don’t want him to be into you” Yohan said knowingly, finally understanding Mathieu’s reaction. 

“It… It would just lead nowhere” Mathieu muttered. 

Yohan hugged him, keeping silent. He understood Mathieu’s situation wasn’t the best right now… It seemed simple if you looked at it from afar: Mathieu liked Olivier, Olivier liked Mathieu… But in fact, they were living in the same house, Mathieu’s mother and Olivier’s father were a couple… no one knew about Mathieu’s homosexuality other than Yohan and no one knew that Olivier probably was into men… maybe not even Olivier himself. This was quite a mess indeed. 

“I’m sorry for you” Yohan told him. 

“It’s okay, I’ll get over it” Mathieu assured, “Now, enough about me… Tell me about you” 

The boys talked through the night and only went to bed in the early morning, both sleeping in Mathieu’s bed (he had a queen size anyway, so it fit alright). They got up a bit before midday and Mathieu joined Olivier in his room as Yohan was taking a shower. 

“Hey. Slept well?” Mathieu asked before kissing his cheek. 

“Yeah… fine” Olivier answered with a small smile. 

“So, what should we do today?” Mathieu asked, sitting down on Olivier’s bed, next to the younger boy, who was playing FIFA. 

“I… I don’t know… I thought you’d spend the day with Yohan… just the two of you” Olivier answered, his eyes still locked on the screen. 

“Oh… well, no. We have a lot of time to catch up and we’re just the two of us during the evening… We can do stuff with you during the day” Mathieu replied.

“You don’t have to, you know. I wouldn’t want to be a burden” Olivier told him, worrying him a little as it wasn’t like him to distance himself from others like that. Maybe Yohan was right… maybe he had misunderstood his relationship with his best friend. 

“Nonsense, you’re not being a burden. You’re my friend, I want to spend time with you too. And I’m sure Yohan will love you” Everyone always did anyway (even though Mathieu didn’t say that). “Then again… if you don’t want to…”

“No, no, no. It’s not that at all. I’ll be happy to spend time with you guys it’s just… I wouldn’t want to intrude” Olivier clarified. 

“It’s settled then, what will we do?” Mathieu asked. 

“I don’t know… maybe we can go to the park and just enjoy the sun and stuff” Olivier proposed. He would have gone for playing football but Mathieu couldn’t do that right now, so they’d have to find other ways to spend their times. 

“Okay, it sounds good” Mathieu agreed with a small smile. 

They stayed silent for a few seconds before Olivier hit pause on his FIFA game and said:

“Mathieu… there was something I wanted to ask you”

“Sure, what is it?” Mathieu asked.

“Does your mother know?” Olivier asked, fidgeting a bit.

“Does my mother know about what?” Mathieu asked, playing dumb. Was Olivier referring to his homosexuality? Was he going to tell anyone? Mathieu was suddenly nervous.

“About you and Yohan… well… you know” Olivier ended up saying.

“No. I don’t know” Mathieu replied, glaring at him. He didn’t mean to get angry at him but he just hated it when people made assumptions. 

“Oh so you’re not…” Olivier trailed off, looking surprised. 

“Together?” Mathieu asked, almost rhetorically as he knew perfectly well what Olivier was referring to. “Saying the word won’t actually hurt you” he informed cynically. Right now, Mathieu thought that Olivier was weird the day before because he was actually a homophobe, and not because he was jealous. 

“I know, I know… Don’t get all fighter-mode on me, I didn’t mean anything by it” Olivier replied defensively. “I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions” he then apologised. 

Olivier’s response made Mathieu’s anger deflate, and then he felt guilty for doing exactly what he hated, that is to say make assumptions. 

“I’m sorry too… for losing my temper. To answer your question: no, Yohan and I aren’t together” Mathieu replied, trying to make amends. 

“Oh… Alright… I’m sorry… I just assumed, because you looked so close… Not that friends can’t be close, you know, it’s just…” Olivier apologised, rambling. 

“Hey, hey. It’s okay, really. I’m not taking this the wrong way at all, because there’s nothing wrong with being gay, of course” Mathieu said, staring at Olivier as if he was challenging him to say otherwise. 

“Of course not. That’s not what I meant at all... Being gay is perfectly fine” Olivier agreed. 

“Good. Yohan isn’t gay though” Mathieu replied, knowing Olivier would probably get the hidden meaning behind his words. 

“Does that mean that you... that you are?” Olivier asked tentatively. 

“I am, yes” Mathieu admitted. He hadn’t planned on telling this to Olivier anytime soon, but after they had that conversation, he would have felt like he was somehow lying to the younger boy if he had kept the secret. He wouldn’t have minded lying to a random guy, but this was Olivier… And Olivier was important to him. 

“Okay” Olivier simply replied, probably afraid to say anything else after how Mathieu had reacted to his previous questions. 

“And… does your mother know this then?” He finally asked.

Mathieu sighed and answered reluctantly:

“No, she doesn’t… Please, don’t tell her”

“Of course I won’t tell her, or anyone for that matter, do you really think so little of me?” Olivier asked almost indignantly. 

“No, no… sorry” Mathieu apologised again. 

He was so upset over the fact he was hiding things from his mother and not knowing how to stop that he didn’t even question Olivier’s motivation for asking if she knew about him being gay. 

“Though you can’t hide it from her forever” Olivier added, almost sounding apologetic for bringing it up. 

Mathieu sighed shakily and said: “I know” 

Olivier seemed on the point to say something when someone knocked on the door. It was Yohan, whose hair was still damp from his shower. 

“Hey guys” he greeted them, “am I interrupting something?” He then asked, noticing Mathieu’s distressed state. 

“No… It’s fine” Mathieu answered with a small smile, “I’m going to take a shower now” he then announced before exiting the room. 

“Wait a second Mathieu” Yohan called after him, following him to the corridor. 

“What happened?” Yohan asked once he had closed the door to Olivier’s room, seeing straight through his best friend. 

“I… I just told Olivier I was gay” Mathieu answered, as they went to his room.

“Really?!” Yohan asked, shocked. “Did he react badly? ‘Cause I can beat him up” 

Mathieu actually laughed at that: “Thanks for the offer, but you won’t need to. And, anyway, I don’t think you’d be fit for that, being about a head shorter than Olivier is”

“Don’t underestimate an angry best friend alright? Plus, I’ve got muscles” Yohan protested. “So, seriously, how did it go?” 

“Well I kinda misjudged him at first… not one of my finest moments I have to admit, but it did go alright in the end” Mathieu answered. 

“Then why did you look like someone had killed your puppy?” Yohan questioned, puzzled. 

“Because we were talking about me having to tell my mom” Mathieu sighed. 

“Oh…” Yohan muttered. He then engulfed his best friend in a hug, careful not to hurt his shoulder. 

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry” Mathieu assured, even though he had no idea if he would be. Yohan stared at him for a few seconds, as if he were trying to check what Mathieu had said was true, before letting him go. 

In the afternoon, the boys went to the park as Olivier and Mathieu had planned to. Before leaving, Mathieu asked: 

“You’re not taking the ball?” 

“But… you can’t…” Olivier started.

“I know I can’t play, but it doesn’t mean you guys can’t” Mathieu interrupted him. Both Olivier and Yohan looked hesitant, so he added: “Go on, take it, I know you want to” 

They protested a bit more, so Mathieu rolled his eyes and just took the ball himself, going out of the house. 

“So, are you coming or what?” He then asked over his shoulder (no pun intended). 

Both his friends followed him out, a bit dazzled.

Mathieu was right to insist, as Olivier and Yohan ended up playing together while Mathieu was looking at them, from where he was lying down in the grass. It upset him a bit not to be able to play, but at the same time, this was also really nice: lazing under the sun (yes, because there was still sun in the South at that time of year, and it was still warmer than most summer days in the North), and watching his friends play football. It felt peaceful. 

Everything was going great, but of course it couldn’t last... something had to happen: that night, Mathieu dreamt of Olivier again, but he awoke right before things got interesting (and by interesting, he meant Olivier’s hand down his pants). He jolted awake, disoriented as to why his dream had been over so soon… He soon noticed a worried Yohan hovering above him. Okay, so he had probably shaken Mathieu awake. 

“Are you okay?” He asked with concern. 

“Yeah, sure… Why?” Mathieu asked, still half-asleep. 

“You were whimpering and tossing, so I thought you were having a nightmare” Yohan explained. 

At that point, Mathieu’s eyes widened in realisation. Fuck… He had a wet dream again, but he was in the same bed as his best friend (which made it approximatively ten times more awkward)… Oh, and yes… He was still hard. Brilliant. 

“Mathieu?” Yohan called out questioningly as his best friend was paralysed. “Are you sure you’re fine?” He then asked.

“No… Maybe not” Mathieu muttered, putting his valid arm over his face to hide his embarrassment. He was trying to calm down, but the harder he tried, the less it worked. 

“What is it?” Yohan asked frantically, getting really worried. 

“D-Don’t worry… It’s just… I’m in a fucking embarrassing situation right now.” Mathieu muttered, blushing brightly. 

Yohan frowned, seemingly deep in thought, and then his face illuminated:

“Oh… you had a…”

“Yes” Mathieu interrupted.

“Was it about O…” Yohan started.

“Yes” Mathieu interrupted again, getting even more embarrassed (which he didn’t think was possible at that point). 

“Don’t be like that, it’s not the end of the world” Yohan assured, trying to keep himself from bursting out laughing. 

“It’s not funny” Mathieu mumbled with a pout. 

“It is” Yohan contradicted with a huge smile. Then again, when wasn’t he smiling? 

In fact, Yohan was right, it could have been worse, Mathieu could have actually had a wet dream while being in the same bed as the person starring in the said wet dream. THAT would have been infinitely awkward. 

“Is it the first time it happens?” Yohan asked curiously. 

Damn him and his annoyingly pertinent questions. 

“No…” Mathieu answered, praying for Yohan not to ask for further information, but knowing he would. 

Yohan stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to develop. When he understood Mathieu wouldn’t, his best friend rolled his eyes and asked: 

“So, how many times has it happened before?” 

“I didn’t really keep count” Mathieu answered, biting his bottom lip and looking somewhere else. 

“Okay… so it happened a damn lot of times” Yohan pointed out unnecessarily. “It must be hard to act normal around him after that”

“It is… Then again we don’t actually act very normal… I don’t go around hugging everyone I see” Mathieu answered. 

“Right…” Yohan replied with a frown. 

“Anyway… Let’s go get breakfast” Mathieu proposed, getting up. Thankfully, he would need no cold shower this time, as the conversation he had with Yohan had been enough to calm him down. 

The boys went downstairs and then to the kitchen. Mathieu was still getting used to roaming the house without a T-shirt on. He had been pretty uncomfortable with it at first, but dressing and undressing was a pain in the ass because of his dislocated shoulder, so he wasn’t putting anything on beside shorts as pyjamas. 

Olivier entered the kitchen soon after they had, and Mathieu noticed he, on the other hand, had exceptionally put a T-shirt on, whereas he usually was quite the exhibitionist. He had probably made an effort because they had a guest. 

At some point, Mathieu asked Olivier if he wanted coffee, but the younger boy didn’t answer. Even though his eyes were fixed upon Mathieu, he seemed unfocused. 

“Olivier” Mathieu called again, waving his hand in front of his friend’s face. 

“Yeah?” Olivier asked, snapping out of his daze. 

Mathieu repeated his question with a raised eyebrow. Olivier declined the offer and announced he was done and was going to take a shower. Mathieu then watched him go with a puzzled stare.

“Well, this was weird…” He declared after Olivier was gone. 

“Maybe he just hasn’t slept well” Yohan shrugged. People tended to zone out when they were tired, right? 

“Yeah… but it has never happened before… I mean, he barely said anything the whole time he was here, and he was pretty absent” Mathieu explained worriedly. 

“It probably isn’t anything serious” Yohan said tentatively, trying to reassure his best friend. 

“Yeah… you’re right” Mathieu agreed. He should stop worrying over nothing… it was stupid. 

Though, Olivier kept giving him more and more reasons to worry during the next few days. He started spending a lot less time with them, for starters, and when he did, he was silent and seemed uneasy, which was the exact opposite of what he usually was. 

Yohan could see Mathieu was worried sick, so he ended up advising:

“You should talk to him” 

“No… I don’t think it’s a good idea” Mathieu replied bitterly. 

“What do you mean?” Yohan asked. 

“Well, there isn’t much to talk about, is there? I told Olivier I was gay and now he’s acting all weird around me. It doesn’t take a genius to understand he isn’t okay with it” he explained, sounding angry but looking sad. 

“Now you’re just making assumptions” Yohan protested. “Don’t you hate it when people do that?” He asked rhetorically. 

Mathieu looked down, knowing Yohan was right, and requested gloomily: 

“Just drop it, please” 

Yohan didn’t give up though, insisting that Mathieu talked with Olivier, but his best friend had apparently decided to be a stubborn git. 

Once Mathieu had persuaded himself that Olivier wasn’t accepting of his homosexuality, tension started to thicken the air every time they both were in the same room, with Olivier being distant for God knows what reason, and Mathieu resenting him for something he couldn’t even know for sure. 

Yohan was getting seriously tired of their shit, and therefore decided he had to try and make things better, as Olivier and Mathieu were too stupid to do it themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of struggled a bit more with this chapter... Nothing I was coming up with seemed really satisfying to me... I don't know if what I'm saying makes sense right now but whatever ^^ please tell me what you thought :P


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support, I'm really grateful for it =D 
> 
> Important steps are taken in these chapters, so I hope you will like it.

Soon (too soon), it was time for Yohan to go back to Lille. On his last day in Montpellier, Yohan decided to have a talk with Olivier. It was necessary, in his opinion. If nothing was done to make the situation better, tension would most probably escalate and one or both of them would end up getting hurt. 

So, when Mathieu was taking a shower, Yohan went to Olivier’s bedroom. 

“Hey…” Olivier greeted as he opened the door, looking surprised to see Yohan. 

“Hey… I need to talk to you” the older boy declared. 

Olivier cleared his throat awkwardly and nodded:

“Okay then, go on” he said, sitting down on his bed. 

“First, I need to know something” Yohan announced, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you have a problem with Mathieu being gay?” He asked seriously, frowning. 

“What? No! Of course not, I already told him that” Olivier answered with a similar frown. “Wait… Is this what he thinks?” He then questioned. That would certainly explain why Mathieu had been that tense around him lately. Though, Olivier couldn’t blame him for thinking that way… He had started avoiding Mathieu right after he had told him he was gay, now that he thought about it… It was understandable that Mathieu had misjudged Olivier’s distant attitude.

“Yes, of course it’s what he thinks. That’s probably what I would have thought too, if I was him” Yohan replied with a raised eyebrow. 

Olivier looked down, feeling stupid. 

“I screwed up, right?” He asked rhetorically, sighing.

“You did… But it’s not too late to patch things up” Yohan encouraged. 

Olivier smiled sadly at that. “I’m not so sure”, he said. 

“Why not?” Yohan asked with a frown. 

“I… I can’t tell you” Olivier answered. 

“Yes you can” Yohan protested, waiting for Olivier to just answer his damn question. 

“I don’t want Mathieu to know” The younger boy replied. 

“Then I promise I won’t tell him” Yohan assured. 

Olivier looked at him strangely, trying to gauge if he was being honest. Why would Yohan keep a secret from Mathieu, who was his closest friend, just because Olivier, whom he had met less than two weeks ago, had asked him to? 

“You can trust me… I just want to help you guys” Yohan added to convince him. 

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do” Olivier interjected. 

“For the love of all things holy, just tell me” Yohan requested, rolling his eyes. 

“Okay, okay…” Olivier agreed reluctantly. “Well… I found out that I might be into boys…” Olivier admitted, “Which was already hard enough to come to terms with…” 

“And?” Yohan asked expectantly, as Olivier was hesitating to continue. 

“You promise you won’t tell Mathieu?” The younger boy asked. 

“Yes, for the umpteenth time, I promise” Yohan affirmed. 

“I… I might be attracted to… well, to Mathieu” Olivier stammered, not looking at Yohan. It was the hardest thing he ever had to admit. 

“I knew it!” Yohan exclaimed, making Olivier look up in shock. He hadn’t known him for a long time, but Olivier was pretty certain that Yohan was a shy and quiet guy, even though a bit less than Mathieu. 

“Sorry”, the older boy apologised, clearing his throat to regain his composure. 

“It’s… okay” Olivier replied, somewhat puzzled. 

“Look, Olivier, do you care about Mathieu?” Yohan asked, even though he already knew the answer. 

“Yes, of course I do” He replied. 

“Then you have to talk to him, make things right… Because, even though you don’t mean to, you are hurting him” Yohan told him. “I’m not asking you to tell him what you just told me, but just stop avoiding him okay?” 

“Okay…” Olivier agreed, sighing. He missed Mathieu a lot, but he didn’t think staying close to him was a good idea… it would only strengthen the feelings he had for him, and therefore worsen the situation. Though, Yohan was right… he couldn’t just avoid him forever. It was selfish of him… It wasn’t Mathieu’s fault if Olivier was attracted to him.

“But, what if he doesn’t want to talk with me?” Olivier asked.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that” Yohan assured him, before getting back to Mathieu’s room. 

At the train station, just before Yohan left, he was hugging Mathieu tight. None of them wanted to let go, even though they had to.

“I don’t want you to go” Mathieu complained.

“I don’t want to either” Yohan said, trying not to cry. 

“Please, don’t cry again” Mathieu requested, remembering the last time they had to say goodbye to each other. 

Yohan laughed shakily at that, letting Mathieu go, because he really had to. 

“Take care of you okay?”

“You too”

“And talk to Olivier” Yohan requested. 

When he saw Mathieu was going to protest, he added:

“It’s not up for discussion. I know you care about him, and he cares about you too, you can’t just let your friendship go to waste” 

Mathieu wanted to reply Olivier had a strange way of showing he cared about him, but he didn’t want to argue with his best friend right before he left, so he just hugged him again briefly before watching him enter the train, his heart breaking a little. 

When he came back home, his mother hugged him and asked if he was alright.

“’m fine” He mumbled. He would have liked Olivier to comfort him, though it was not an option anymore. It was infuriating to notice how he had come to rely on the younger boy so much in such a short time. 

On Monday, he got back to school, and it was even less enjoyable than it usually was without Olivier, as they still weren’t talking to each other. Plus, Mathieu was not back to training yet, as he was still recovering from his shoulder injury (even though he could now move his shoulder again), so he had nothing to look forward to. 

“Honey… Is there something wrong between you and Olivier?” Mary asked on Wednesday evening, as Olivier was at the football practice.

“No…” Mathieu lied.

“Oh… okay… It’s just, you’re spending far less time with him than you used to… At first I thought it was because Yohan was here, but now he’s left…” Mary explained. 

“Well, I told you we’re fine” Mathieu lied again. He couldn’t possibly tell her he wasn’t talking to Olivier, because then she would ask why, and he just couldn’t answer that question (well, technically speaking, he could, but he certainly wouldn’t). 

“Okay, okay. I’m glad” Mary answered, even though she sounded unconvinced. 

On the following day, at school, Léa asked him:

“Are you okay Mathieu?”

Mathieu snapped out of his torpor and replied,

“Yeah…” 

“Are you sure? You seem absent” She asked with concern.

Mathieu had discovered she was quite nice, once he had overlooked the fact that she had hit on him several times. 

“It’s okay… I just had a spat with a friend” Mathieu replied. It wasn’t entirely true, but he didn’t have the time nor motivation to explain everything to her. 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear about that… I’m sure it’s going to be fine… you should just talk to them” Léa replied with a small smile. 

Would people stop asking him to talk to Olivier? He did miss him a lot, and sometimes he just wanted to take matters into his own hands and talk to him, but it would wound his pride. Olivier was the one who had started avoiding him, and not the other way around, so there was no way he would be the one who’d try to solve their problems. 

Olivier, on the other hand, was trying to muster the courage to talk to Mathieu, but it was hard. There were very few things which could make him nervous, but apparently, discovering he was into guys and having to talk to the guy who made him realise it was enough (it would have been pretty worrying if it had not been, to be honest). 

Mary asked him the same question she had asked Mathieu while her son was at the physiotherapist’s for his shoulder. 

“It’s just a misunderstanding” He answered honestly, unlike Mathieu. 

“I knew he was lying to me” she sighed. 

“He probably just wanted to avoid worrying you” Olivier proposed, defending Mathieu.

“Yeah maybe… Do you think it will get better anytime soon?” she asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m working on it” Olivier replied, passing a hand in his hair.

“Good” Mary simply answered, not asking for any more detail. It wasn’t her business anyway, she just wanted to know if her son was going to be alright. 

On the following day, during their training session, Laurent asked:

“What’s up with you and Mathieu?”

“Is it that obvious that there is something wrong?” Olivier asked, sighing.

“Well, you were glued by the hip, and now you never talk to each other anymore… So, yeah, it’s quite obvious” Laurent replied. 

“I have to talk to him… But I can’t bring myself to do it…” Olivier said pitifully.

“Why not?” Laurent asked, frowning.

“I think things could go wrong” Olivier admitted.

“Worse than now?” Laurent asked disbelievingly. “The only way it could get worse would be for Mathieu and you to start fighting, and knowing both of you, I think it’s very unlikely to happen”.

Olivier said nothing for a while, contemplating it, and then he answered:

“Yeah, you’re probably right…” And, really, Laurent was right. But, strangely, it didn’t make Olivier any less nervous at the prospect of having a discussion with Mathieu. 

Olivier finally resigned to talk to Mathieu when his father, of all people, asked him if he was alright. Olivier must have looked really downcast for his father to ask about it… because they usually didn’t talk about what they felt, both being male clichés, with a cliché father-son relationship: they got along well, but they didn’t have deep and meaningful conversations. 

So, after he had talked with his father, Olivier got upstairs and knocked on Mathieu’s door. 

The older boy opened the door and looked at him without saying anything.

“I think we need to talk” Olivier announced.

Mathieu sighed but opened the door wider nonetheless, as a way to tell Olivier to come in. He then sat down on his bed and stared at him expectantly.

“First… I just wanted to say sorry for avoiding you… And, also, to let you know that I wasn’t avoiding you because you’re gay…” Olivier apologised. 

“Then why did you?” Mathieu asked, frowning confusedly. 

“I… I don’t really feel comfortable sharing that” Olivier replied.

“Then why should I believe you?” Mathieu asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh, I don’t know… Maybe because I’m your friend, and that means you should trust me” Olivier replied snappily. He knew that this attitude could only make matters worse, but he was tired of Mathieu’s hostility.

Mathieu looked down, remorseful but also annoyed that Olivier didn’t want to tell him why he had been avoiding him. 

“Plus, you refused to tell me why you were avoiding me a few weeks ago, so I don’t see why I should tell you” Olivier added, as Mathieu was keeping silent. 

“I…” Mathieu started, trying to think of a way to defend himself, but of course he didn’t find any… Olivier did have a point. 

“I just can’t tell you… It would make everything worse” Mathieu ended up saying, sighing tiredly. 

“Well I can’t tell you either” Olivier replied stubbornly. 

“Though, we can’t just go on with being friends if we keep secrets like that…” Mathieu declared. It would without a doubt strain their relationship, as they would both wonder what the other was hiding from them. 

“I know…” Olivier sighed. 

“So what? We just continue to stay as far away from each other as we possibly can?” Mathieu asked.

“I really don’t want that” Olivier told him earnestly. 

“I don’t want that either” Mathieu admitted, looking down and playing with the edge of his comforter. 

“Then we should just admit why we have been avoiding each other… It can’t make things that worse if the only other alternative is to just stop being friends” Olivier proposed. He didn’t feel like admitting he was gay (or bi, whatever) and attracted to Mathieu, but it would be even worse to give up their friendship. He knew their friendship would never be the same after he had told Mathieu, but a damaged friendship was still better than no friendship at all. 

“Okay, you go first” Mathieu requested.

“Why me? You should go first, you avoided me first” Olivier pointed out. 

“Yeah, but this was your idea, and you’re the one who came here to talk, so…” Mathieu replied. 

Olivier glared at him, “It’s mature, really” 

“Whatever, just get on with it” Mathieu said stubbornly. 

“Fine” Olivier agreed reluctantly. The air in the room suddenly felt far too hot, and Olivier started fidgeting. 

“I… I discovered I might be into guys…” He started. 

“And so what? I’m into guys too, it won’t be that much of a problem” Mathieu interrupted. Even though he was surprised by Olivier’s revelation, he didn’t see where the problem stood. 

“I wasn’t finished” Olivier replied. “I… I was avoiding you because… the reason I found out I was into guys is that I… I’m… Well, I’m kinda… attracted to… to you” he finally admitted, not looking at Mathieu. This was the most awkward situation he had ever been in. “So… what about you?” he then asked, looking up right on time to see Mathieu leaning toward him, and then he couldn’t think anymore. 

Mathieu had framed his face with his hands and had connected their lips, which the older boy had been wanting to do for weeks. Olivier kissed back immediately, as he had dreamt of this too, and put his hands on Mathieu’s hips, his thumbs touching naked skin, making the older boy shiver. As their kiss got more heated, Mathieu’s hands lost themselves in Olivier’s hair. Usually, he hated it when people messed his hair up, but right now he couldn’t care less, as he felt Mathieu’s soft lips on his and had his hands on his gorgeous body. They had to stop eventually, as they were both out of breath. 

“We shouldn’t be doing that” Mathieu said guiltily. 

“I know” Olivier replied honestly. 

However, they leaned down at the same time, kissing each other again. It was slower this time, but not any less passionate. Olivier gripped Mathieu’s short hair and bit his bottom lip lightly, making him moan. Mathieu would have loved doing that forever, but he wasn’t far away from getting hard and, even if his dream-self wouldn’t have minded one bit, he realised it wouldn’t be the best situation right now. Plus, they really shouldn’t be doing that. So he separated himself from Olivier, ignoring his whine of protest.

“Fuck” Mathieu cursed lowly, hiding his face in his hands. 

“Indeed” Olivier agreed with a sigh, passing a hand in his hair. 

“We’re in deep shit now, aren’t we?” Mathieu asked tiredly. 

“I suppose so…” Olivier replied. They could pretend nothing had happened, and no one had to know… But that wouldn’t make things normal again. Now that they knew how it felt like to kiss each other, to be close physically… 

“I’m attracted to one guy and it had to be the son of my father’s girlfriend” Olivier complained to no one in particular. 

“What a mess” Mathieu replied, sitting down on his bed with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. 

Olivier sat down next to him and put an arm around him. 

“It’s gonna be okay” he assured, even though he was far from being certain of it himself. 

“We can’t do that again…” Mathieu said sadly. 

“I know yeah” Olivier sighed. “But we’re gonna be fine… We’ve still got each other… even though not in that way… And no one ever has to know something happened” the prospect was absolutely not enticing, but it would have to do. 

“Okay” Mathieu agreed reluctantly, because he had no other choice. 

The plan looked quite simple. Simplistic even. They just had not to get their hands all over each other. However, it proved to be a lot more difficult than it seemed. Indeed, their resolve kept on breaking each time they were alone together, at home, away from prying eyes. 

The first time they messed up was about a week after their kiss. It had started innocently enough, as they were watching TV, sitting at a reasonable distance from each other. But then, they drifted closer to each other without even noticing and ended up cuddling on the couch. A few minutes later, they were making out heavily, Mathieu lying down on the couch and Olivier on top of him, his hips circled by the older boy’s legs. Then Olivier’s lips went to his neck and he sucked hard, making Mathieu buck his hips upward, their erections rubbing against each other. 

“Fuck” Mathieu breathed, shutting his eyes tight, as Olivier moaned with need. 

Alright, it had just gotten out of hands.

“We should really stop” Mathieu said reluctantly. If they didn’t stop right now, Mathieu was sure he wouldn’t be able to at all. 

Olivier got up, distancing himself from Mathieu. Mathieu was right, they couldn’t make out here, when one of their parents could come back home at any moment. Technically, they had decided that they wouldn’t make out anywhere at all. 

“We suck at this ‘keeping our distance’ shit” he said.

“That we do” Mathieu replied, still hard as a rock. 

“I think I’m going to go for a cold shower” Olivier announced. 

“I think this might be a good idea” Mathieu agreed with a sigh. 

This kind of… incidents happened a few other times in the following weeks, but thankfully no one had noticed anything. Their relatives were just happy that they were back to being close friends and let it at that. 

One day, they were on Olivier’s bed, Mathieu straddling Olivier’s hips and licking a stripe from his neck to his collarbone. He was moving down to his chest when they heard the front door opening and Mathieu’s mother yelling from downstairs that she had something to tell him. 

Both boys jumped off the bed, startled, and put their shirts back on as quickly as they possibly could. Mathieu tried to give his hair an ounce of order before asking: 

“Do I look okay?” 

“You look great” Olivier answered without thinking. 

Mathieu rolled his eyes: 

“Thanks but that’s not really what I meant” 

“Oh… I think you’ll be fine” Olivier answered, realising what Mathieu was asking for. His lips were swollen from their kisses, but it shouldn’t look suspicious to someone who wasn’t looking for it. He did put Mathieu’s shirt collar back in place, though. 

“Ok thanks.”

Mathieu got down the stairs in such a rush that he didn’t take the time to think about what his mother could possibly have to tell him. 

“Hey mom”, he greeted. 

“Hey honey” She greeted back with a huge smile. 

Mathieu looked at her questioningly. 

“So, what is it you have to tell me?” He asked, curious as to why his mother was beaming with joy. 

She didn’t answer right away, for dramatic effect, and then she announced happily: 

“Samuel and I are going to get married”, showing him her engagement ring.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope many of you will tell me what you thought and I hope you enjoyed this chapter ;)  
> Have a nice day (or night) guys :D


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support guys! ;)
> 
> So, Arsenal won beautifully today. I'm happy! :D Plus, I'll be able to throw it to my teacher's face next week, because he keeps teasing me about Arsenal since Monaco threw us out of the Champions League xD 
> 
> Also, I had to share with you guys that I noticed something on Twitter: Debuchy calls Cabaye "Fréro" which means "bro", whereas he doesn't do it with his other friends. They are so cute *_* I also saw Cabaye's reaction when a journalist asked him about the Girouchy kiss, it was priceless ;)
> 
> Anyway, I'll shut up. I hope you'll like this chapter :)

“That’s great mom!” Mathieu exclaimed after a few seconds of awkward silence, trying to sound as cheerful as his mother. “So… When are you getting married?” He asked in a neutral tone which was contrasting fairly with his inner panic. 

“We’re thinking of doing it in April” Mary answered. 

“April… Great” Mathieu replied with faked enthusiasm. It was in about half a year… In about half a year Olivier would officially become his step-brother. What a mess. “I have to go back upstairs, I’m working on an assignment for tomorrow” he then lied so he could get away. 

He went to his room and laid down on his bed, feeling numb. Olivier entered his room a few seconds later, without knocking (they were past that). 

“What did she tell you?” Olivier asked worriedly. 

“I… I think this isn’t my place to tell you” Mathieu replied. Olivier’s father probably wanted to announce the “good” news to his son. 

“Come on, tell me please… You’re worrying me” Olivier requested. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. 

“My mother… and your father… they’re getting married” Mathieu said slowly, as if he still hadn’t fully realised it yet. 

Olivier’s jaw dropped from shock,

“Fuck” he then cursed. 

“Yeah, it sums it up pretty well” Mathieu agreed, still looking at the ceiling. 

Now it would be even worse if their parents found out about them. If Mathieu had already been less than unenthusiastic at the prospect of ever having to tell his mom, now it seemed impossible to do it. 

“It doesn’t have to change anything” Olivier said tentatively. As Mathieu looked at him strangely, he added: “I mean… we weren’t planning on saying anything anyway… so it’s pretty much the same”.

“Yeah… But it made me realise what we’ve been doing is crazy… We risk getting busted every time we do something… It can’t go on forever” Mathieu replied, finally getting up from his bed. Plus, he thought Olivier deserved better than having to hide their relationship because Mathieu couldn’t live with his mother finding out about him being gay. He felt like such a coward for not being able to tell her… But she was the only close family he had ever had, and he couldn’t cope with even the thought of losing her. He didn’t want to disappoint her either and he felt that him being gay would do that in a way. He was her only son, and he wouldn’t get the ‘perfect’ life she had been dreaming of for him, marrying a nice girl and having beautiful babies… 

“Alright then” Olivier admitted with resignation. “If you don’t want to…”

“It’s not that I don’t want it” Mathieu interrupted, pleading with his eyes for Olivier to understand. 

“If you really wanted us to be together, you wouldn’t care about what other people would think of it” Olivier told him. And Mathieu thought he was being fucking unfair. His mother wasn’t just “other people”, and Olivier should have known how important she was to Mathieu.

“You’re being unfair...” he told him, looking down. 

“And what about you? Don’t you think you’re being unfair?” Olivier said cryptically before exiting Mathieu’s room and going back to his own. 

After that, Mathieu sat down on the floor, back against the wall, wondering why it was feeling so much like a breakup when they weren’t even together to start with. 

On the following day, as Olivier was going to go to school, Mathieu called out to him, asking him to wait. 

“I’m coming with you” he informed. 

“Isn’t your first class at nine today?” Olivier asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah… But I want to talk to you” Mathieu replied. 

“We end up in this kind of situations too often” Olivier pointed out before he started walking, Mathieu following him. 

“I know… Look, this is really important… I just wanted to tell you that I want us to remain friends despite all of what happened between us” Mathieu told him seriously. 

“Why? Because it would raise questions if we didn’t?” Olivier asked with hostility, not looking at Mathieu. 

“No…” Mathieu replied, rubbing his neck nervously, “Because I need you…” he admitted quietly. It was probably a selfish request, but a request Mathieu couldn’t help but make. 

Olivier stopped walking at that. Mathieu only noticed it a few seconds later, so he stopped a few meters away and had to go back on his tracks to join Olivier. 

“Say that again”, He requested, now staring at him intently. 

“I… I want us to be friends because… I need you… Our friendship is really important… You are really important to me” Mathieu stammered. He had stopped looking at Olivier after he had said “because” and only looked back up when he was done talking, so he could see the younger boy’s reaction. It was really hard for him to talk openly about his feelings, but he had made an effort because, as he had just said, this was important. 

Olivier said nothing for a while, making Mathieu worry, but he ended up saying:

“Okay… Friends” and extended his hand for him to shake. 

Mathieu smiled at his antics and they shook hands, for longer than necessary, Olivier even ending up engulfing Mathieu in a hug. 

“I was trying to keep my distance, but it’s just too hard” He told the older boy. 

“I know…” Mathieu replied, hugging back. He was feeling exactly the same. 

“Now, let’s go, or I’ll be late, and people will start looking at us strangely” Olivier said. They were hugging intensely in the middle of the street after all. 

Mathieu and Olivier spent as much time together as they could during that day, and as he went to bed that night, Mathieu started thinking things over. On the one hand, he was glad that Olivier and he were still friends, but on the other hand it was hard to be with him all the time but not how he would have liked them to be. However, there was no other choice, as Mathieu did not want to lose Olivier. Plus, it would be selfish to stop talking to Olivier just because he couldn’t get what he wanted out of their relationship. Mathieu was pretty sure, being his insecure self, that the younger boy would get over their failed relationship quicker than he would. It was probably just physical on Olivier’s side… whereas Mathieu had feelings for his soon-to-be step-brother. In the end, Mathieu felt depressed, the only highlight being that he would be back in training on the following day. 

As a result, he couldn’t concentrate during lessons, more and more excited as time passed and took him closer to football practice. 

“What drugs are you on, mate?” Laurent asked with a fond smile. 

Mathieu blushed and replied:

“I’m just happy that I can play football again” 

“I can understand that” Laurent told him, “But try to be less hyper, because Mou looks on the verge of throwing the first thing he can put his hand on at you”

“Sure” Mathieu whispered. 

“Koscielny, Debuchy, shut up or I’m giving you detention tonight” Their teacher threatened, knowing perfectly well that it would get to them, because they didn’t want to miss football practice. 

“Yes, sir” They both mumbled, going back to their maths exercises. 

When Laurent and he went out of their last lesson, Mathieu was beaming with joy, walking quickly to the training grounds. 

“Hey, calm down buddy” Laurent requested, trailing behind. 

“Wow, someone’s cheerful” Olivier laughed when Mathieu entered the locker room, greeting everyone with a bright smile. 

“Yeah, you’re laughing because you didn’t have to cope with him all day” Laurent joked, ruffling Mathieu’s hair as the latter was glaring at him playfully. 

Before warm ups, they had to form pairs. Mathieu was planning to pair up with Olivier, as they had done before, but he was already paired with Laurent. 

“I can find someone else if you want” Laurent proposed, surprising Mathieu. It was a bit unusual… guys usually didn’t care about those matters. 

“No, no… I’ll be fine” Mathieu replied with a smile. 

He went around and finally found someone who was still alone too. 

“Hey Morgan, want to pair up?” He asked the younger boy. 

“Yeah sure” He agreed. 

Later, as they were stretching, Morgan told Mathieu:

“It’s good to have you back” 

“Well, it feels good to be back” Mathieu answered with a shy smile, feeling a bit embarrassed, as he always was when someone complimented him in any way. 

“Mathieu… I wanted to ask you… The guys are organizing a birthday party for me next week and… I was wondering if you wanted to come…” Morgan asked. 

“Yeah, sure. That would be nice” Mathieu answered with a small smile. 

“Great… that way I’ll have one more responsible guest… ‘Cause I just had Hugo until now… I’m not sure I can count Laurent as responsible… I think Olivier’s rubbing off on him” Morgan explained. 

Mathieu chuckled at that: “I’ll try to help keeping them on tracks” 

“Well good luck with that” Morgan replied. “At least I told them we couldn’t do it in my house, so I’m safe in that department”. 

“I think you had great insight on that one” Mathieu agreed. Parties could go crazy real fast, especially when there was a whole football team involved. 

“Thanks, I’m pretty proud of my intuition” Morgan laughed, getting up and extending his hand to Mathieu so he could help him up. However, Mathieu got up too quickly, which made him feel light-headed, so Morgan had to steady him. 

“Hey, are you alright?” He asked worriedly. 

“Yeah, fine…” Mathieu mumbled, leaning onto Morgan. “Sorry” He then apologised, getting back to his senses and letting go of the younger boy. 

“No problem” Morgan replied with a smile.

After training, on the way back home, Olivier asked Mathieu: 

“So… Is your shoulder alright?” 

“Yeah, good as new” Mathieu answered with a smile. 

“And you would say it if it started hurting again, right?” Olivier questioned. 

“Of course, don’t worry” Mathieu reassured him.

“Good” Oliver approved. He said nothing for a while, looking deep in thought, as if he was debating on what to say. 

“What was that between you and Morgan?” he finally asked. 

“Well, he invited me to his birthday party… and then I also lost my balance at some point, so I ended up half-leaning onto him… That must have looked quite weird from afar” Mathieu replied, “Why do you ask?” 

“Oh… Just like that” Olivier answered, keeping his eyes on the road in front of them. 

“Right” Mathieu answered, unconvinced. In his opinion, Olivier was jealous, he would have asked but though better of it, as they were walking on thin ice. He didn’t want their friendship to be threatened again, so he might as well avoid referring to their more than friendly feelings toward each other. 

When they arrived home, they ate dinner (or more like swallowed their food avidly), and then went to Olivier’s room to play FIFA. At some point, Mathieu scored against Olivier and the younger boy stole his controller away from him in retaliation. 

“Hey, give it back!” Mathieu protested, trying to get it back to no avail. Olivier was far taller than he was, so the only thing he had to do to keep the controller out of Mathieu’s reach was raising his hand. 

Somewhere along their wrestling session, they fell off Olivier’s bed and landed on the hardwood floor. 

“Shit! Are you okay Mati?” Olivier asked, worried. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry” Mathieu assured. 

“Are you sure?” the younger boy asked again, looking at him intensely. 

“Yes. I’m not made of sugar, my shoulder’s not going to dislocate at the slightest push” Mathieu replied, rolling his eyes. 

“Still, I’m sorry… It was stupid of me to do that” Olivier apologised. 

“I. Am. Fine” Mathieu tried one last time, pausing between each word as if he were trying to imprint it in Olivier’s head. 

Seeing that his friend still didn’t look convinced, Mathieu took him in an arm lock. 

“See, my shoulder’s fine” he said, messing Olivier’s hair up. Or, trying to would be more accurate. 

“How is it that your hair stays in place no matter what?” Mathieu asked, incredulous and slightly amazed. 

“It’s a secret” Olivier replied teasingly, “Now let me go, you git” he requested, wriggling free of Mathieu’s grip and checking that his hair was alright, even though it was totally unnecessary. 

“You’re so vain” Mathieu joked. 

“Being that hot is hard work you know” Olivier replied with a smug smile. The little shit. 

“Anyway, modesty isn’t your forte” Mathieu declared, shaking his head in mock affliction. 

“Well, you know what people say… Nobody’s perfect. Not even me” Olivier told him, trying not to burst out laughing at Mathieu’s annoyed look. 

“Argh, you’re so infuriating” The older boy complained, rolling his eyes. 

“You love me anyway” Olivier replied, realising too late that it wasn’t the right thing to say in their current situation. 

“Shit… I’m sorry” He apologised, looking down. 

“Nah, it’s okay… I don’t want things to be awkward between us… we should still be able to tease each other without it causing a malaise” Mathieu affirmed. 

Olivier looked up and smiled tentatively. “Alright… Shall we go back to the game now? Because this is going to become quite awkward and sentimental… It already is in fact” he laughed. 

“Right” Mathieu agreed, smiling back and taking his controller that had been left lying between them. 

They played for about an hour before Mathieu said:

“I should really do my homework for tomorrow…” 

“And you’re saying that at 10 o’clock in the evening?” Olivier asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah… I kinda suck with schoolwork. Actually, I still have to do homework which was due yesterday” Mathieu said, making a face… It was painful just thinking about it. 

“That’s bad” Olivier said in mock disapproval. 

“I know” Mathieu replied, “I’m gonna go and catch up”. 

“Okay… Good night Mati” 

“Good night Oli” Mathieu replied, kissing his cheek, lingering a second too long. It was bad, but he couldn’t help himself. 

When he was back in his room, he received a call from Yohan and answered immediately. He was always eager to talk to his best friend, even more so when he had homework to do. 

“Hey mate” 

“Hey, I’m calling you because I haven’t heard from you in a few days. You suck, you were supposed to keep me updated on the ‘Olivier’ situation” Yohan complained. 

“Geez, calm down man. I’m sorry… but it’s been a hard few days” Mathieu replied. 

“Why, something bad happened between you and Olivier?” Yohan asked, only knowing that his best friend had been having some kind of secret love story. Yeah, he liked romanticising things. 

“Well… It’s not that really…” Mathieu answered cryptically. 

“Mathieu, now is not the time for riddles” Yohan interrupted, “Get to the point, would you?” 

“Alright… So, my mother and Samuel are getting married” Mathieu informed. 

“What?!” Yohan exclaimed, surprised. 

“Yeah, that was our reaction, exactly” Mathieu said. 

“So… I suppose you ended things with Olivier?” Yohan asked, half-rhetorically, as he was nearly sure of the answer. 

Mathieu did not answer, feeling it would be unnecessary to say anything. Yohan knew him too well. 

“Right… I guess nothing I’ll say will get you to change your mind, and anyway it isn’t really any of my business so… I’ll just ask you if you’ve got anything else interesting to tell me” Yohan explained, as understanding as ever. 

“Well… some friend from the football team invited me to his birthday party next week…” Mathieu said. 

“And? Tell me more” Yohan requested, “You wouldn’t have told me about it if there wasn’t something else to it”. 

“Well, I kinda think that Olivier was jealous of that guy” Mathieu replied. 

“Now, that’s interesting. Does he have reasons to be?” Yohan asked. 

“I… I don’t really know… For sure the guy’s hot… and there’s also the fact that I kinda ended up all over him” Mathieu continued. 

“What the fuck?” Yohan immediately asked, wondering if he had heard wrong.

“I had vertigo and nearly fell so he had to catch me, don’t start imagining things” Mathieu advised. 

“Do you think there is the slightest chance that this guy is attracted to you?” Yohan asked, curious. 

“I don’t know… I don’t know if he’s gay, and he was most probably just being friendly” Mathieu replied, though now that he thought about it… Morgan had come with him to the hospital (he had probably been asked to, but still), and he was really friendly with Mathieu, even though he didn’t seem particularly outgoing. It was a bit weird, objectively… But Mathieu quickly dismissed the idea. 

“Anyway, I wouldn’t want to get involved with anyone right now…” He declared. 

“I can understand that you’re not in the best of situations to start a relationship, but not being able to be with Olivier doesn’t mean you can’t be with anyone else… you have to get over him someday” Yohan told his best friend. 

“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be fair to go out with someone to get over Olivier… I don’t want to use a guy as rebound” Mathieu replied. 

“Sure… Of course, that wasn’t what I was asking you to do… Just, don’t be too cautious… You could miss something great” Yohan advised. 

“Maybe” Mathieu mumbled, “I don’t think anything of the sort will happen any time soon anyway” 

“Tell me if something does though, okay?” Yohan requested. 

“Sure” Mathieu agreed. As if he’d start not telling his best friend everything. When pigs fly. 

“What about you and Fiona? Still disgustingly in love?” Mathieu then asked him. 

“Yeah… She asked me to go with her and her family to Spain this summer” Yohan answered. 

“Oh my, getting serious, aren’t we?” Mathieu asked teasingly. 

“Shut up… I’m nervous” Yohan replied in a small voice. 

“Don’t be! I’m sure they will love you. You’re the boyfriend every parent dream of for their daughter, Yo’: you’re nice, shy, polite, serious and you smile all the time. Her mother will probably be fawning over you, annoyingly pinching your cheeks and stuff.” Mathieu reassured him. 

“Will you stop complimenting me?” Yohan requested. 

“Nah, you need me to, you insecure git. I’m sure you’re blushing right now” Mathieu protested, and he was right about the blushing-part of course. 

“I hate you sometimes” 

“No, you don’t”

“No, I don’t” Yohan confirmed with a sigh. 

“I assure you it will go fine” Mathieu told him again. It would probably go so fine that Mathieu was envious of his best friend. He felt guilty for it, but how could he not be envious? He was into a guy he couldn’t have, and Yohan had a perfect relationship with his long-term crush. He was happy for his friend of course, but he would be even happier if he could be with his crush too. 

“Alright, alright, you convinced me” Yohan admitted, laughing softly. “Good night Mathieu” 

“Good night, Yo’” Mathieu replied before hanging up, sighing softly. 

Now he had to start his homework. Great.


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all those who reviewed, left kudos and read :D   
> Though there are some of my usual reviewers I haven't heard of in a while, where are you guys gone? :(
> 
> I was really disappointed to see that Mathieu wasn't even on the bench yesterday, and Yohan didn't start with PSG and Olivier didn't score again and he looked a bit off. Plus, Arsenal struggled a bit with that match, and FC Barcelona tied against Sevilla, and Dortmund lost... so all in all I wasn't very satisfied with football matters yesterday =/  
> I hope this chapter will cheer up those of you who were also disappointed ^^

During their next training session, Olivier went to Mathieu to ask if he would like to be his stretching partner. However, the older boy had to decline as Morgan had already asked him. This soon became a habit, Morgan and Mathieu partnering all the time. Mathieu didn’t mind about it. Morgan was a nice guy, and plus it kept him from getting too close to Olivier physically. They had managed to keep their hands to themselves until then, Mathieu wanted to keep that on. 

“You and Morgan seem to get on pretty well” Olivier remarked one day, as they were walking home after training. 

“Yeah… we kinda do…” Mathieu replied, “What about it?”

“Oh… no, nothing… It’s cool” Olivier said with a smile. “I’m glad you get on well with my friends”

“They’re great guys, how could I not?” Mathieu replied, smiling back, even though he couldn’t help but think Olivier had a strange attitude. It was unlike him to just make remarks with nothing behind them… Very few people did that anyway. 

“Yeah… You’re a great guy too, so it’s only logical” Olivier told him. 

“Thanks” Mathieu replied shyly, blushing slightly. He couldn’t believe that Olivier could still get this kind of reactions out of him after everything that had happened between them. 

“Speaking about Morgan… What are you going to get him for his birthday?” Mathieu asked.

“I don’t know yet. I’m going shopping on Saturday and I see what I’ll find” Olivier replied, “Why are you asking?” 

“For inspiration… I don’t know what to get him myself so…” Mathieu answered. 

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m getting him a gift because he is a close friend, not all the guests will bring a gift… If you absolutely want to bring something though, just bring alcohol” Olivier reassured him. 

“But… I want to get him something nice. He’s my friend too… Plus, I’m not sure alcohol would make him happy… He doesn’t look like the ‘partying’ kind of guys” Mathieu replied, remembering how unenthusiastic Morgan seemed at the idea of getting a huge birthday party. 

“Yeah… you’re right… He is not” Olivier admitted, “before you blame me, this huge party wasn’t my idea all right?” 

“Alright, alright… I wasn’t asking” Mathieu replied defensively, a small smile forming on his lips nonetheless. 

“Okay… You can go shopping with me if you want to… I can help you find something” Olivier proposed, and Mathieu wondered if he had been reluctant to do it, because he surely sounded like it. 

“Yeah, that would be great… If it’s no trouble” Mathieu accepted, pretending he hadn’t noticed anything. 

“It’s fine. I’ll be happy to” Olivier assured him, but it didn’t sound sincere. It worried Mathieu, who wondered what he had done wrong, but he didn’t ask. And he wouldn’t unless it became absolutely necessary. He was tired of fighting… fighting with Olivier, and maybe also of fighting the feelings he had for him. 

They had a match on Saturday, and they had planned to go shopping right after they were done showering (and dressing, of course). 

The match was hard: the other team was tough and they didn’t manage to score until the very last minute, when Olivier scored thanks to a brilliant assist from Mathieu. However, when the latter came to the former to hug him, he noticed something was seriously wrong. Olivier hugged back, but it didn’t feel like it usually did. He was holding him less tightly, and hadn’t kissed his cheek or leaned his head on top of his as he usually would. It looked like Mathieu did have to ask him if something was wrong, after all. 

The referee ended the match a few seconds later, and Mathieu suddenly had an armful of Morgan. 

“Congratulations” the taller boy told him, hugging him.

“Thanks, but I’m not the one who scored you know” Mathieu answered shyly, still not knowing how to take a compliment. 

“Yeah, I do know. But there wouldn’t be a goal if there hadn’t been someone to assist the scorer, and I felt like congratulating you, because you just came back and you’re already doing brilliantly” Morgan explained, making Mathieu blush beet red. 

“Th-Thanks…”

“You’re welcome” Morgan answered with a smile, going to see Olivier. 

Mathieu watched in wonder as Morgan high-fived his friend, noticing how different it was from how he had congratulated him. 

Once they were in the locker rooms, Mathieu noticed he had forgotten his shower gel. 

“Fuck…” He cursed lowly. 

“What is it?” Morgan asked him.

“I forgot my shower gel” the older boy replied with a sigh. 

“No worries, I’ll give you some” Morgan assured him with a smile. 

“Thanks” Mathieu replied, smiling back. 

When they were in the shower, Mathieu noticed that Olivier was showering in the opposite corner of the room, while he was usually showering right across from where Mathieu himself was standing (which was downright cruel, by the way). Plus, he wasn’t taking part in the banter and wasn’t as cheery as he usually was, which was weird considering he had just scored a winning goal. He had just thanked and smiled at various teammates who had congratulated him for his goal, but that was it. 

“Mathieu?” Morgan asked, waving a hand in front of Mathieu’s face. 

“Oh… Sorry” The older boy apologised, snapping out of his trance. 

Morgan raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything as he handed Mathieu his shower gel. 

“Thanks man” Mathieu said, looking somewhere else embarrassedly. 

As he was dressed and ready to go, Mathieu went to Olivier, who was tying his shoes, and asked: 

“We’re still going shopping right?” 

“Yeah, sure, why do you ask?” Olivier replied with a question of his own. 

“I was just making sure…” Mathieu answered while, in fact, he had been asking because he thought there was a chance Olivier was mad at him, though he didn’t really know why he would be. 

“Okay… Well, let’s go” Olivier told him, launching his sports bag over his shoulder. 

Mathieu followed him outside and they went to the bus station. Olivier stayed silent for most of the way to the mall, until Mathieu just couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Did I do something?” He asked, downcast. 

“What do you mean?” Olivier asked, frowning. 

“Well… I don’t know…I have the impression that you are mad at me” Mathieu answered tentatively. 

“Of course not… what made you think that?” Olivier asked, playing dumb. 

“Well you don’t talk to me unless it’s necessary, and you’re smiling less… and stuff” Mathieu had plenty more evidence to prove his theory, but he would sound like a stalker if he exposed it to Olivier. 

“I didn’t notice…” Olivier said, lying blatantly. 

“Yeah… right. Look Oli… we had agreed to be honest with each other…” Mathieu reminded him. 

“But I am being honest! I’m not mad at you…” Olivier replied with a sigh. 

Mathieu looked down, feeling dejected. 

“Please, don’t be like that” Olivier requested almost pleadingly. 

“I’m sorry if I seemed distant… I wasn’t doing it on purpose” he apologised, catching Mathieu by the wrist so he would stop walking and pulling him to his chest, hugging him close. 

Mathieu hugged back, sighing. It most probably sounded cheesy, but he never felt better than in Olivier’s arms… it made him feel that, somehow, everything would be alright and that they would end up being able to love each other without anything standing in the way. He shouldn’t think like that though… he would only end up being more disappointed. 

They hugged for far longer than what was socially acceptable before they finally took the bus and went shopping. 

“Do you think he’d like that?” Mathieu asked Olivier, referring to a nice navy blue scarf which looked soft and warm. 

“I do think so. It looks comfy and it’s classy, so it’s quite fitting” Olivier replied. 

“Right… Plus it will be winter soon…” Mathieu said, thinking out loud. “I think I’ll go for it then” 

“Great” Olivier replied with a smile. 

Mathieu thought they were done with shopping, as Olivier had already bought a dark grey pull-over for Morgan, but he had yet to discover the shopaholic side of his friend. 

“Look, that shirt would look brilliant on you” Olivier affirmed, gesturing enthusiastically to a blue dress shirt. 

“I don’t know if you noticed… but I’m not really one for dress shirts” Mathieu replied. 

“Yeah, your dress sense is quite dreadful at times” Olivier cringed. 

“Is this your way of coaxing me into buying this shirt? Because this is not working at all” Mathieu told him in a dry tone. 

“I’m sorry… Would you at least try it on?” Olivier asked. Mathieu didn’t answer, apparently debating it. 

“Pretty please… for me” The younger boy pleaded with puppy dog eyes. 

“Oh, alright” Mathieu agreed reluctantly, rolling his eyes. 

“Great” Olivier smiled. 

Mathieu watched amusedly for a few seconds as Olivier tried to take the shirt but failed miserably as his hands were already full of things he wanted to try on himself. 

“Would you mind?” Olivier asked, annoyed. 

“Of course, you’re asking so nicely” Mathieu answered with a teasing smile, taking the shirt and going to the fitting-room. 

Olivier followed him and waited. 

“Aren’t you going to try all of these on?” Mathieu asked, puzzled, gesturing to the pile of clothes Olivier was holding. 

“Sure, but I want to see how you look in that shirt first” Olivier replied. 

“O-okay” Mathieu replied, going in. He went out a few minutes later, feeling a bit self-conscious. He wasn’t used to wearing this kind of clothes. 

Olivier whistled, making Mathieu blush. “You look dashing”. 

“Stop it” Mathieu mumbled. 

“But it’s true. It really brings out your eyes” Olivier affirmed. 

“Thanks… but…”

“No buts, you’re getting that shirt” Olivier said, and it wasn’t up for discussion. “You should wear it tonight by the way” he added, “Morgan would probably like it very much”. Because, yeah, of course, organized and insightful as they were, the boys had went shopping for Morgan’s gift on the day of the party.

“Why would Morgan care what I’m wearing?” Mathieu asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Well… because you guys are flirting… Don’t play dumb” Olivier replied. 

“We… we were doing no such thing” Mathieu protested. 

“It definitely looked like it… At least Morgan is into you, I’m pretty sure of that” Olivier assured. 

“I don’t think so” Mathieu replied, obviously in denial. 

“Alright, be stubborn if you want to… However, imagine for a second that I’m right, how would you react?” Olivier asked. 

“I… I don’t know… it won’t happen anyway… And if it does, but it won’t, well I’ll improvise” Mathieu stammered. 

“Right…” Olivier just answered before disappearing into the fitting-room. Mathieu was afraid the atmosphere would be tense again after that, but it turned out fine when Olivier went out with a first outfit a few minutes later, acting as if nothing had happened. 

“So, how do I look?” He asked with a smile, turning around. He was such a fucking supermodel. 

“Dashing, as always, do you even need to ask?” Mathieu replied, rolling his eyes. 

“Thanks for your enthusiasm Mathieu” Olivier said sarcastically. 

“You’re very welcome” the older boy replied, playing along. 

Olivier stuck his tongue out before going back to the fitting room. 

The rest of the afternoon went great and then they went home to get ready for the party. As usual, it took Olivier about half-an-hour to do his hair. 

“Man, come on, your hair looks perfect. Let’s go” Mathieu tried for the umpteenth time. He was bored as hell. 

“No way” Olivier replied, still arranging his hair, looking attentively into the mirror. “We already discussed that it was hard work being that hot” he joked. “By the way, it is totally unfair that you get to be handsome even though your hairdo is horrendous… Strangely, it kinda fits…”

“Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?” Mathieu asked, not knowing if he had just been insulted. 

“Yeah…” Olivier replied with a chuckle.

“Aren’t you a sweetheart today? Criticising my dress-sense, or lack there of, apparently… and now complimenting me by insulting my hair-style. 

“Don’t be upset…” Olivier told him as he finally exited the bathroom and went to Mathieu who was waiting for him on his bed, pinching his cheek affectionately. 

Mathieu swatted his hand away, though there was no animosity behind it. “Let’s go, we’re already late” he said, getting up. 

When they arrived at the party, Morgan looked particularly happy to see them. 

“Great, you’re here! I have the impression I don’t know half the people here” He said, hugging each of them briefly. 

Mathieu and Olivier put the gifts on the table and wandered around. People were already dancing, many of them already drunk. 

At some point, it got too warm, so Mathieu went out of the house to get some fresh air. He found Morgan sitting on the front steps. 

“Hey, mate. Are you not enjoying the party?”

“Oh… No, it’s quite alright… It just gets a bit too much if I stay there too long” Morgan replied with a small smile, as Mathieu sat down beside him. 

“I saw that you have brought a gift… Thank you, really… You didn’t have to” he then added. 

“I wanted to” Mathieu replied with a smile. 

He felt relaxed, with the fresh air cooling his heated skin. Maybe the few drinks he had were also helping in that department. After a while, he felt Morgan’s head on his shoulder and slowly turned to him. Morgan looked up and, suddenly, they were only a few inches apart. If either Mathieu leaned down, or Morgan moved a bit upward, their lips would connect. And that was exactly how it turned out: Morgan, having had a few drinks himself, felt bold enough to kiss Mathieu. For a moment, the older boy kissed back, because he was slightly buzzed, and Morgan was hot as fuck, and his lips were so soft… But then he actually realised what he was doing and instantly stopped. 

Morgan looked down at that, feeling the sting of rejection. 

“I’m sorry…” Mathieu apologised, feeling bad for his friend. 

“No… I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have come onto you like that” Morgan replied, but Mathieu could clearly see he was upset. 

“Look… You’re a great guy really, and you’re hot, and you’re a great kisser…” Mathieu assured him, wanting to make up for the fact he was rejecting him. “Really, I’m sure anyone would be delighted to kiss you… But I… I’m in love with someone” he explained, and he was surprised by how evident it had suddenly become that his crush on Olivier had turned into love. He already knew he had feelings for the younger boy… but he had never taken the time to analyse them, afraid of what he would find. Now though, he couldn’t hide from it anymore. He was in love with his future step-brother and there wasn’t much he could do about it. 

“Oh… I get it… Well this person, whoever they are, is very lucky” Morgan told him. 

“Thanks” Mathieu blushed, “Sadly… I’m not sure that’s true… because it didn’t work out in the end… But even though I can’t be with them, I don’t want to start anything with someone else, because it wouldn’t be fair… as I’m not sure I’ll be able to get over that person” Mathieu explained, “I’m pathetic, am I not?” He asked. 

“No… I don’t think you are… I think you’re doing the right thing… I’m glad you’ve been honest with me”, Morgan told him. 

“That’s the least I could do” Mathieu replied with a sad smile. 

Morgan surprised him then, by hugging him. 

“I hope you’ll turn out to be alright” he whispered softly to him. 

“You too” Mathieu muttered, hugging him back. 

On the following day, Mathieu called Yohan. 

“Hey bro, what’s up?” His best friend asked. 

“Well… It tuned out that Morgan was indeed flirting with me” 

“Oh… What happened?” 

“Yesterday was his birthday party and… at some point, we were both chilling outside, and we kissed” Mathieu started.

“Really?!” Yohan interrupted, shocked. 

“Yeah… But I pushed him away once I came back to my senses… I just couldn’t do it you know”

“Yeah, I know” His best friend replied. It would have really surprised him if Mathieu had decided to give it a go with that Morgan guy… He was making the right decision. It really wouldn’t be fair to use Morgan as a rebound, just to try to get over Olivier. “I’m proud of you buddy. Resisting a hot guy in order not to hurt anyone. It must have been hard”.

“Yeah, it kinda was… Plus the guy is a fucking good kisser… Not the same as with Olivier of course, but…” Mathieu trailed off. 

“You’ve got it bad, don’t you?” Yohan asked with a sigh. 

“I… I fucking love him” Mathieu answered, his voice cracking a bit. 

Yohan said nothing for a while as he was too shocked… not that Mathieu loved Olivier, as it was quite obvious, but that Mathieu had finally admitted it. His best friend could be quite stubborn (and that was an understatement). 

“I know you do buddy, I know… I really hope you’ll be alright” 

“Yeah well… you’re not the only one” Mathieu replied with a melancholic smile, which Yohan couldn’t see. “Don’t worry about me… I’ll get over it, eventually…”

“I hope you will” Yohan sighed.

“I’ve gotta go mate… thanks for, you know, for being there for me” Mathieu told him. 

“I’ll always be there for you” Yohan assured. 

“We’re starting to sound like the Friends’ theme song” Mathieu laughed. 

“We do, but that’s what best friends do” Yohan replied before they said their goodbyes and hung up. 

During the week, Mathieu noticed that Morgan was wearing the scarf he had gotten him for his birthday almost every day, and they were still talking to each other. It was less awkward than what he had expected, so it was nice. 

However, something he hadn’t expected at all happened one evening, as he was going back from the restaurant where he had eaten dinner with his mother. 

Mathieu wanted to see Olivier and therefore went to his room, opening the door without knocking as they usually did. He instantly regretted it though, when he saw Olivier and Morgan… Making out on the former’s bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you start hating Olivier in this fic, you should know that there is an explanation coming up xD


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! =D I want to thank you once again for your support. It makes me really happy ;)
> 
> I hope the wait wasn't too long, because many of you told me that you were waiting eagerly for the next update. And also, I experienced a live-reaction for the first time, when my friend read the chapter when we were at university. She was like "Are you fucking serious?" and threatened not to talk to me next week if I didn't update before monday ^^ So, this chapter is for you Korax =P 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy Chapter 11 C=

Mathieu’s jaw dropped at the scene and when Olivier and Morgan turned towards him with a look of sheer panic etched upon their features, he stammered an apology and hastily went back where he had been coming from. He heard footsteps indicating that he was being followed but he didn’t turn back. Olivier had soon caught up with him though. 

“Mathieu, wait” He requested, catching his arm so he couldn’t escape. “I’m sorry… I can explain” he added. 

“No, no… I’m sorry, I should have knocked” Mathieu replied tonelessly. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, you do whatever you want to… with whoever you want to” he assured, but he sounded off. 

Olivier frowned, letting go of Mathieu’s arm. 

“So you’re not mad at me?” He asked in disbelief. 

“Of course not” Mathieu replied surely, offering a fake smile. 

Olivier didn’t look convinced but he let it go. 

“Alright...” He finally admitted. “See you later then” he said, sounding hesitant to do so. 

“Yeah, right” Mathieu replied, trying to sound as if everything was alright and he was walking on sunshine. 

Everything wasn’t fine though… Mathieu felt hurt. Olivier and Morgan were making out… Morgan had told him a few days ago that he liked him, so it could have stung a bit for Mathieu to see him get over him that quickly, but it didn’t… not really… The worse was seeing Olivier get over him, because Mathieu himself had been unable to get over Olivier. It hurt like a bitch to see him with someone else… 

However, no matter how it had made him feel, Mathieu had pretended to be alright to Olivier, because he felt he didn’t have the right to be mad at him over what he had done. After all, Mathieu was the one who had not wanted to give them a chance, refusing to keep what they had, because he was not brave enough to come out to his mother and to stop caring about what everyone around him would think.

At breakfast on the following day, Mathieu and Olivier were eating in silence until the latter started talking:

“Look Mati… About yesterday... I wanted to let you know that…”

“You don’t have to explain yourself” Mathieu interrupted him. He really didn’t want to talk about this. 

Olivier answered nothing and looked down at the cereals he had been eating. 

“I… I’ll see you at training” Mathieu added before getting up. He had to leave, as he could feel the atmosphere becoming heavy with tension. 

“Alright… See you” Olivier replied with a sigh.

During the next few days, they kept doing things as they usually did, pretending nothing had happened. However, there was always some kind of tension because of the unspoken lingering between them. They were still walking to school together, they still played football and videogames, ate every meal together… but they touched less, they didn’t laugh anymore and every smile was forced. For Mathieu, the situation was straining, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. He was still refusing to talk about what had happened between Morgan and Olivier. The latter had tried to bring the subject up a few more times, but Mathieu had avoided the talk each time. He didn’t want to hear the pity in Olivier’s voice when he would tell him about Morgan. He felt an explanation was unnecessary anyway… Olivier had succeeded where Mathieu had failed: he had gotten over the mutual attraction they felt for each other while Mathieu was madly in love with him. How anything Olivier would say could make it any better? 

On the other hand, things with Morgan pretty much stayed the same. Mathieu had no hard feeling, because his feelings towards Morgan were only friendly, unlike the ones he had for Olivier. That probably explained why Morgan felt he could be honest with him when, one day, he came to Mathieu at school and told him:

“You should really hear him out” 

“What do you mean?” Mathieu asked, even though it didn’t take a genius to understand this had something to do with Olivier and their current situation. Playing dumb was easier though. 

“I mean you should let Olivier explain himself” Morgan answered, rolling his eyes. 

“I don’t see why I would do that… There is nothing to explain anyway… It’s fine, he’s a big boy, he can do whatever he wants to…” Mathieu replied.

“It’s not fine, you know it as well as I do” Morgan protested, looking at him sternly. 

Okay… so Apparently Morgan knew more than Mathieu had initially thought about what had happened between Olivier and him. Mathieu felt a bit betrayed that Olivier had told someone about them without asking him first, but he realised it was hypocritical as he had told Yohan himself. 

“We’re fine alright? So, okay, it’s been a bit tense lately… but it’s just because it’s a bit awkward… I came in without knocking, I saw things you guys didn’t want me to see… It will be fine in the end” Mathieu assured, not really knowing who he was trying to convince: Morgan or himself. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it” Morgan told him unapologetically. “I wouldn’t want to sound cliché or anything, but communication is the key Mathieu. If you refuse to talk with Olivier about your problems, things will just go downhill”. 

Mathieu sighed, looking down at his shoes. “Okay, I’ll think about it”, he agreed reluctantly. He could admit that Morgan was right… but it didn’t change the fact he didn’t want to talk. In the end, he had agreed just to get Morgan off his back, having no intention of actually following his friend’s advice. Okay, this was cowardly and probably immature, but he didn’t give a damn. 

So, he kept on behaving in the exact same way he was before, pretending everything was peachy when everyone could see it wasn’t. 

One day, as Mathieu and Olivier were the only one left in the locker-room after training, the latter asked:

“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, sure” Mathieu replied, as he always did even when it was not okay. 

“Stop lying. What is it?” Olivier asked, wanting Mathieu to open up for once in his life. 

“I told you I was fine” Mathieu replied stubbornly. 

“And I told you to stop lying!” Olivier shot back, getting worked up.

Mathieu furrowed his brow, glaring at the floor angrily and not saying anything in reply. His silence was the final straw for Olivier who suddenly pinned him against the wall, not caring that he was only wearing boxer-shorts and that Mathieu had no shirt on.

“Just talk to me, for God’s sake” he requested, his tone not letting room for discussion. 

“You don’t have the right to ask any answer from me” Mathieu snapped angrily, letting the resentment he had been feeling since he saw Morgan and Olivier together get the better of him.

“Fuck if I don’t! You’ve been weird since you saw me making out with Morgan and refuse to hear my explanation, pretending that you’re not mad at me even though I can tell that you are. And you’ve got no right to be, by the way. Because, in case you don’t remember, you’re the one who didn’t want us to be together” Olivier ranted, still holding Mathieu against the wall. “So now, I’d appreciate it if you fucking talked to me for once, instead of ignoring the issue” 

Mathieu didn’t answer immediately, looking torn. 

“Mathieu…” Olivier said warningly. 

“I’m getting to it!” the older boy snapped. “I… I’m hurt okay? When I saw you with Morgan, it only confirmed that you had gotten over me and I’m hurt because I… I, on the other hand, am not over you… And okay, I don’t have the right to be mad at you for that but…” 

Mathieu would have kept on rambling, but he was interrupted by Olivier’s lips crashing against his as the younger boy kissed him hungrily. He whined low in his throat and kissed back immediately, choosing to stop overthinking things for once in his life and just enjoy the moment. 

“You fucking idiot” Olivier breathed after he had stopped kissing him. 

Mathieu looked at him, puzzled, looking like he wanted to say something to defend himself, but not knowing what to say as he didn’t understand what was happening anymore. 

“I’m not over you…You would have known that if you had actually accepted to listen to what I had to say instead of just assuming I was over you like the insecure idiot you are” Olivier declared. 

“I… I… mh… What?” Mathieu asked incoherently, a bit confused. He needed further explaining from the younger boy. 

“All this time, I wanted to tell you that Morgan and I were making out the other day because he had just told me about his crush rejecting him… And since I had been rejected too… well I thought that maybe we could just try to get over it by being friends with benefits… kill two birds with one stone, you know… Granted, that wasn’t my brightest moment, but it seemed like a good idea at the time” Olivier explained.

“Oh…” Mathieu simply replied, feeling a bit stupid for his previous stubbornness. 

“Yes, ‘oh’. Then, Morgan actually told me that you were his crush… Now I have a question… Did you reject him because you are not over us?” Olivier continued. 

“Yes…” Mathieu whispered, looking down. 

“Then fucking give us a chance…” Olivier demanded pleadingly. 

“We already went over that Oli” Mathieu replied sadly.

“No, YOU went over that, and I think you should reconsider what you decided… I’ll take a wild guess and say that we’ve both been miserable since we stopped seeing each other as more than friends. Now we are just alternating between being somewhat alright and downright awful, trying to keep an unstable friendship alive” Olivier pointed out, “Now… call me selfish, but I don’t think I can go on like this… this rollercoaster feeling is exhausting”

Mathieu inhaled sharply at that and looked at Olivier with wide eyes.

“I don’t think we can ever go back to how things were before… before all this… So now you decide: either you accept to give us a chance, or we stop talking at all…”

“Please… Please no. Don’t make me do that” Mathieu pleaded. 

“You have to choose Mathieu. I can’t stand it anymore” Olivier replied wearily. 

Mathieu didn’t reply immediately, but his answer became obvious as he looked down, his eyes filling with tears. 

“I’m sorry Oli…” He apologised, only confirming what Olivier was dreading. 

He let go of Mathieu immediately, as if he had burnt him, and he kind of had. 

“I can’t say I was not expecting that” Olivier remarked bitterly, shooting him a disappointed look. 

He then finished dressing in silence before leaving without glancing back, leaving a stunned Mathieu behind. The older boy stayed immobile for a while, staring into space, before he also finished dressing, breathing shakily. He felt like crying, but the tears refused to fall. 

They only came later, when Yohan called him. 

“Hey Mathieu, how are you?” His best friend asked. 

“Hey… Not so good” Mathieu answered honestly. 

“What happened?” Yohan asked, concerned. 

“It… It’s over this time” Mathieu simply said, knowing Yohan would understand what he was referring to, and then he just broke down. As if admitting it out loud had finally made it real. One tear rolled down his cheek, and then another, and then the floodgates were open so that it was impossible to stop the flow. His breathing got heavier until he was sobbing his heart out in the middle of the street. Fuck, this was embarrassing. At some point, he even had to stop walking, as he couldn’t see where he was going anymore, and just sat down on his sport bag, feeling powerless. 

“Mathieu, calm down… It’s gonna be alright, okay? Calm down” Yohan said as calmly as he could, once he had recovered from the shock of hearing his best friend cry. 

“It… It’s not… Al-alright” Mathieu hiccupped, “Olivier stop-stopped talking to m-me”. 

“It has happened before… You guys will make up as you did before” Yohan assured, trying to reassure him. 

“We-we won’t this t-time” Mathieu stammered in reply… Once he had calmed down a little bit, he told Yohan everything that had happened, getting encouraging words from his best friend. 

“I wish I’d be there to comfort you” Yohan said, feeling truly sad for Mathieu. 

“I wish you were here too” Mathieu mumbled, sniffing slightly. 

“Mathieu… I know I already said that… But don’t you think everything would get better if you did try things out with Olivier…?” Yohan asked. 

“I… I don’t think so… I really want to be with him, but… I’m not ready for everything it implies” Mathieu replied sadly. “This is all my fault”

“Now don’t beat yourself up. You don’t need more reasons to feel bad” Yohan admonished. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right…” Mathieu admitted reluctantly, though it didn’t make him stop thinking about it. 

The next few weeks were hard. Mathieu had troubles getting accustomed to Olivier not talking to him. For instance, the first evening they spent alone in the house, Mathieu made dinner for both of them, but Olivier didn’t come out of his room, leaving him staring emptily at the untouched food. It was also hard at school and at training… things were awkward because they both shared the same friends… And the aforementioned friends didn’t know how to act around them, as they didn’t know what had happened between them. 

“Do you know what the hell happened?” Laurent asked Mesut one day, fed up with his friends’ stubbornness. 

“No… But they have to get their head out of their ass” Mesut replied. 

“That they do, yeah… They’re being seriously stupid” Laurent agreed… thinking about something.

“I might have a plan” He said mysteriously, getting Mesut intrigued. 

At the beginning of December, the football team was to leave for a few days for an important match. After a long bus travel, they boys were waiting in the youth hostel’s hall for their room assignment, most of them not caring much… which was far from being the case for Mathieu… He didn’t think he could stand the level of awkwardness if he ended up in Olivier’s room. 

“Morgan and Hugo, Laurent and Mesut, Olivier and Mathieu…” 

Fuck, Mathieu internally cursed, not listening to their coach anymore. It was just his luck. 

“Boss… Is it possible to switch rooms?” Olivier asked once he was in front of the coach to fetch the key to their room. 

“What is your problem Olivier? Don’t you live with Mathieu anyway?” His coach asked, feigning to be puzzled. 

“Yeah… But things are complicated right now… so, can we switch, please?” Olivier reiterated, as Mathieu watched from afar with a sad look on his face. 

“No you can’t. Your problems risk damaging the team cohesion, so put your differences aside and suck it up” The coach replied. 

“But…” 

“No buts, this isn’t up for discussion. Now, out of my sight” their coach ordered, shoving the key in Olivier’s hand.

Olivier didn’t protest any further, knowing it was a lost cause, and left in the direction of the stairs, not checking if Mathieu was following him or not. Why would he? Mathieu reasoned, even though it still stung. 

It was already late, and they were tired from the journey. Plus, they had training early on the next morning, so everyone went straight to bed. Mathieu tossed and turned for what felt like hours before finally succumbing to a restless slumber. 

He ended up having an awful dream, where he was trying to catch up with Olivier, who was walking away from him, but he was prevented from doing so by some invisible barrier interposing between them. He punched and kicked, but it changed nothing, so he tried screaming Olivier’s name at the top of his lungs. However, the barrier seemed to be blocking all sounds and the younger boy didn’t turn back. Mathieu felt as if he were being abandoned once again. First his father and now Olivier. He felt weak and powerless, soon feeling suffocated. He fell to his knees, breathing heavily, unable to calm down. 

“Mathieu… Mathieu!” He heard distantly. He knew that voice… but he couldn’t remember whose it was, and where it was coming from. 

“Mathieu” He heard again louder this time, a hand shaking his shoulder. 

He bolted upright, his breathing even heavier than it had been a few minutes ago. 

“Mathieu, it’s okay, you had a nightmare… It’s gonna be okay now” Olivier said softly, placing both hands on the older boy’s shoulders. However, Mathieu was still not calming down, seemingly in the middle of a panic attack. Olivier didn’t know what had triggered it, but now was not the time for nosy questions. 

“O… Oli” Mathieu called out between two breaths, his hands fisting the younger boy’s T-shirt. 

“I’m here” He assured, “You’re gonna be alright, I’m here” he said soothingly. 

“It’s… too hot… I can’t… breath” Mathieu stammered. 

Olivier was starting to panic too, distressed by his friend’s state, but he hid it the best he could, not to worsen his situation. 

“Okay… Come here, we’ll go to the bathroom” Olivier proposed, helping him get up and leading him to the bathroom adjoined to their room. 

“Do you think a cold water could help?” He asked, feeling a bit helpless. 

Mathieu didn’t nod, but he didn’t protest either, still hyperventilating. Shit. 

“Okay… I’m gonna take your shirt off, alright?” Olivier warned, doing as he had said with gentle movements, not wanting to startle Mathieu. 

He then took his own shirt off and led Mathieu to the shower. Once they were under the shower head, he turned it on after he had made sure the water would come out cold and then held Mathieu under the spray. 

He had no idea whether this would help or not, but he didn’t know what else he could do to help him cool down. 

“Now, focus on my breathing” Olivier said, holding Mathieu against him. “Inhale though your nose, and exhale through your mouth” He advised, illustrating his words by following his own instructions, showing Mathieu the example.

Soon, Olivier’s breathing and the feel of his naked skin against him helped Mathieu calm down, his breathing slowly getting back to normal. 

Once he felt it was alright to do so, Olivier turned the water a bit hotter, or else they would end up catching pneumonia. The weather was already cold enough as it was without them standing under cold water. Though, he still hadn’t let go of Mathieu, still holding him against his chest, his head above his heart. 

“I… I’m sorry” Mathieu apologised after a while. 

“Shush, don’t think about it” Olivier hushed him, turning the shower off. “It’s alright now”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, Come on you Gunners :D


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks again, thanks for the support! I'll never say this enough. You rock :D
> 
> I hope you'll like the new chapter ;)

Olivier fetched a towel and wrapped it around Mathieu. 

“Thanks” the older boy mumbled, not looking at him in the eyes. He was grateful for Olivier’s help, but he was also really embarrassed over what had happened. 

“You’re welcome” Olivier replied, hugging him briefly once again before asking: “Do you want to talk about it?” The chances that Mathieu did want to talk about it were slim, but he might as well try. 

“No… Sorry” Mathieu replied quietly. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry” Olivier assured him. Then, they changed into dry boxers and it was time to get back to bed. They would be exhausted during training tomorrow anyway, but they could still hope getting some rest. 

However, when Mathieu got back to his bed, he just sat on it and put his head on his knees, staring into space. 

“Mati, you should try to go back to sleep…” Olivier advised, knowing it would probably make him sound like Captain Obvious. 

“I… I don’t feel like it” Mathieu mumbled in reply, not looking at the younger boy. 

Olivier got up from his bed and went to Mathieu’s with his pillow in hand. 

“Come on, move” He requested, wanting Mathieu to make some room so that he could lie down next to him. 

“No… you don’t have to… I don’t want to bother you… even more than I already did tonight” Mathieu replied, even more embarrassed than he had previously been. 

“Nonsense, you’re not bothering me… Now, move” Olivier requested once again. 

Mathieu still didn’t move though, looking everywhere but at Olivier. So, the younger boy sat down at the edge of the other’s bed, their shoulders touching. 

“Look Mati… You don’t have to be embarrassed about what happened, okay? It can happen to everyone… you had a bad dream, you panicked, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Olivier assured him, putting his arm around his shoulders. 

“Come on, don’t be stubborn” He said, trying to coax him into going back to sleep with him. 

Mathieu looked up at him and tried to smile. 

“Alright, fine” he finally accepted, albeit reluctantly. 

They slid under the covers, fidgeting awkwardly for a moment, trying to find the right position. They ended up touching from head to toes, Mathieu’s head on Olivier’s chest, and one of the younger boy’s arms around him. They did not have much choice anyway, as it was a single bed.

“Is this okay?” Olivier asked in a hoarse voice. 

They were cuddling half-naked, and now really wasn’t a good time to make Mathieu uncomfortable, so he preferred asking, even though the question could make things even more awkward. 

“Yes…” Mathieu answered lowly, drawing patterns with his thumb on Olivier’s smooth chest, making him shiver. 

“Okay… Good night Mati” Olivier answered, trying to hide how the older boy’s actions were affecting him. 

 

“Good night...” Mathieu said back. “Oh and Oli?” 

“Yeah?” He replied questioningly. 

“Thank you” Mathieu whispered, sounding embarrassed once again. 

“You’re very welcome” Olivier replied. There was no need to thank him anyway.  
“Are we on speaking terms again now?” Mathieu asked, seemingly on edge, wondering if this had just been a one-time thing. 

“Yeah… if you want” Olivier answered. Truth to be told, he had missed Mathieu fucking much. 

He instantly felt Mathieu relax against him. 

“Yeah… I want to” The older boy then admitted. 

Then, something clicked… 

“Mati… Your panic attack… Was it because of me?” Olivier asked, even though he was afraid of the answer. 

“No… well yeah, in a way, but not really” Mathieu said cryptically. 

“Could you be a bit clearer please?” Olivier asked, already feeling guilty. 

“Well… the dream was about you…” He admitted. 

“What did I do in it?” Olivier further questioned. 

“You were leaving me” Mathieu answered truthfully after having stayed silent for a while. 

“So this is totally my fault… Fuck… I’m sorry Mathieu” Olivier apologised, guilt creeping up on him. 

“It’s okay… You didn’t know” Mathieu said, dismissing his apology. 

“Still, I should have noticed… I’ve been a real jackass” Olivier beat himself up. He couldn’t believe Mathieu had been feeling so bad because they weren’t talking anymore and he hadn’t even noticed anything. 

“You couldn’t have noticed… we’ve barely seen each other lately” Mathieu protested. 

He had most probably said that to reassure Olivier and to convince him it wasn’t his fault, but he only managed to make him feel guiltier. Of course Olivier hadn’t noticed… because he had stubbornly been ignoring Mathieu.

“I can almost hear you thinking” Mathieu informed, rising slightly so he was on the same level as Olivier. “Stop beating yourself up… It’s alright, really” 

“It really isn’t” Olivier disagreed. 

“Look Oli… You’re not leaving me again, are you?” Mathieu asked.

“No… I promise” Olivier answered, tightening his grip on the older boy. 

“Then that’s all that matters” He assured, framing Olivier’s face with his hands, trying to make the younger boy look at him. 

However, it wasn’t successful, and it didn’t take a genius to see that Olivier was still feeling guilty, seemingly lost in thoughts. So, Mathieu did the only thing he could think of at that moment: he kissed Olivier. The younger boy moaned from the surprise, but kissed back immediately nonetheless, almost as if he were programmed to do so. They kissed slowly, just enjoying the feeling of finally surrendering. Mathieu ran his tongue over Olivier’s bottom lip, asking for entrance. Olivier opened his mouth, welcoming the intrusion, loving the fact that Mathieu was being far more straightforward than he usually was. Mathieu was now straddling his hips and Olivier’s mind just went blank. He thread a hand in the older boy’s hair, tugging lightly on it and nibbling on his bottom lip, making him moan. 

“Fuck, Oli… I want you” Mathieu whispered in his ear, grinding their clothed erections together to illustrate his words and, this time, it was Olivier’s turn to moan, bucking his hips up reflexively. However, even though he couldn’t help but react to Mathieu’s touch, warning bells had started ringing in his ears. They couldn’t do that… 

“Wait… we can’t” Olivier affirmed, breathing hard. He didn’t know where he had found the force to say that and not to throw caution to the wind, but he was glad he had… He didn’t need to add taking advantage of Mathieu to his guilty conscience. 

“Why not?” Mathieu asked, puzzled and quite annoyed at the interruption. “You want me too, I can feel it… It’s kind of hard to miss”

Indeed, it was hard to miss… quite literally hard.

“I want you… I always do… The real question is ‘do you?’” Olivier replied. 

Mathieu arched an eyebrow. 

“I thought that much was clear… I explicitly told you so a few seconds ago, how can that be clearer?” Mathieu asked rhetorically. 

“No… I know you want me now… The thing is… Are you sure you’ll still want me tomorrow?” Olivier asked. “I really don’t want us to do something you might regret” First, Olivier would feel as if he had taken advantage of Mathieu, who had to be at least a bit vulnerable after what had happened sooner this night, and second, he didn’t think he could take it if they had sex only to have Mathieu regret it and reject him again. 

Mathieu sighed and got off Olivier, sitting down on the bed. 

“I really do want you… all the time” Mathieu told him honestly. “And not only physically” Mathieu admitted quietly, looking down at his hands playing with the comforter. 

Olivier, who had also sat down, took one of Mathieu’s hand in his. 

“But the problems which prevented you from giving us a chance in the beginning are still there… that’s why I’m telling you not to jump into things tonight… Take some time...” Olivier advised. It was really hard for him to do: he really had to restrain himself not to respond positively to Mathieu, but he preferred declining now, no matter how hard it was, than getting one of them (or both) hurt. He was tired of this circle that had been going on between Mathieu and him… they were making progress, and then regressing, progressing, regressing, and so on. 

“Okay… maybe you’re right” Mathieu agreed half-heartedly, still fidgeting with the comforter with his hand which wasn’t in Olivier’s. 

“Alright… Now that it’s settled… Shall we go back to bed?” Olivier asked. 

Mathieu nodded and lied back down. 

“Do you want me to go back to my own bed?” Olivier asked. “I’d understand if you don’t want me here right now.” 

“No... Stay please” Mathieu requested. Even though it stung that Olivier had rejected him, the younger boy had done so for him, and Mathieu had to admit he had done the right thing. 

“I’ll be glad to” Olivier replied. 

They said good night again and Mathieu, wanting to calm down and take his distance, turned his back to Olivier. However, the younger boy didn’t want to hear any of it and got closer to Mathieu until the latter’s back was stuck to his front, making his whole body tense. Olivier put his arms around him and kissed the back of his head and then his shoulder blade, feeling the older boy relax in his embrace. Both boys, being totally exhausted, fell asleep a few minutes later. 

In the morning, they chose the “repeat” option of their alarm clock one too many time, not finding the energy to get up, so they ended up having to rush in order not to be late for breakfast. 

“If you want to stay in bed, I can tell the coach you’re not feeling well…” Olivier proposed as they were dressing up. 

“Why would I do that? If I stayed in bed whenever I wanted to, I’d probably never make it to school” Mathieu joked in reply. 

“Yeah… But today’s different… You have good reasons to take some rest” Olivier answered. 

“Nah, I’m alright… Today’s a new day, you know” Mathieu protested. 

“Yeah… But you lost a lot of energy… Maybe it would be better if you didn’t train today” The younger boy said tentatively. 

“For fuck’s sake Oli, I had a panic attack, I’m not dying” Mathieu replied, a bit snappier than he had intended to be. 

“Alright, alright, forget I said anything” Olivier told him somewhat defensively, and Mathieu couldn’t hold it against him. 

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to snap… It’s just… You know how important football is for me… I wouldn’t want to miss training for anything” Mathieu apologised. 

“It’s okay” Olivier assured him with a small reassuring smile. 

They didn’t have time to discuss anything else as they ran downstairs to meet the rest of the team in the refectory. 

The whole day was a rush. They ate breakfast, then they had training, then they ate lunch, they went out and had a walk in the city. Their teammates soon noticed that something had changed. After all, it wasn’t hard to notice in the slightest: Mathieu and Olivier had been ignoring each other for weeks and, suddenly, they were friends again. 

“What happened to you guys?” Laurent asked, curious. 

“What do you mean?” Olivier questioned, even though he already knew the answer. 

“Don’t play dumb… You guys weren’t talking and now you’re back to being the best of friends” Laurent explained. 

“Well, we talked things out” Mathieu informed. 

“You? You talked…?” He repeated disbelievingly. 

“Yeah… Don’t look at us like that, it’s not that surprising” Olivier replied, to what Mesut couldn’t help but scoff, getting a glare from his friend. 

“Well, whatever you did, we’re glad that you guys are alright again. You were being seriously annoying” Morgan interjected. 

At the end of the day, everyone went back to their own room. 

“Seriously Kos, thanks” Morgan thanked him earnestly. 

“What for?” Laurent asked, not really getting where this was going. 

“For convincing the coach to put Olivier and Mathieu in the same room. If you hadn’t, these stubborn jerks would probably still be ignoring each other.” Morgan explained. Whatever they had done during that night (which Morgan suspected was more than talking), they wouldn’t have done if it wasn’t for Laurent’s interference. He was wondering if Laurent knew about Mathieu and Olivier too, but he wouldn’t ask him, as he would risk outing his friends if it turned out that Laurent didn’t know. 

“Oh, well, you’re welcome. It had to be done eventually, they were just being stupid” Laurent replied. 

Morgan laughed at that: “That they were, yeah”. 

Once they had been back in their room, Mathieu and Olivier lied down on the former’s bed. Olivier’s one would stay untouched for the rest of their stay. 

“I thought this day would never end” Mathieu sighed. 

“My thoughts exactly” Olivier agreed, holding Mathieu. 

They stayed silent for a while, just enjoying their closeness. At some point, Mathieu broke the silence: 

“Oli… about what we discussed yesterday…” He started. 

“Yeah? What about it?” Olivier asked, holding his breath, waiting for the verdict. 

“Well… now I’m not in a moment of vulnerability anymore… And I still want you” Mathieu informed, blushing brightly as he verbalized his desire. 

“You do?” Olivier asked, trying to keep his hopes from rising. “What about your mother and everyone else?” He asked. He wanted to kiss the hell out of Mathieu and not to care about anything else… but he had to ask eventually. 

“To hell with it!” Mathieu replied, “I can’t ignore my feelings anymore… And I don’t want all of this to hurt us more than it already did… I thought, after all, maybe we’ll be able to hide what we have… and if not, then so be it… I can’t bring myself to care anymore” Mathieu declared, looking up at Olivier, who had brought a hand up to caress his cheek and was now staring at him lovingly. 

The younger boy leaned down and kissed him gently. Mathieu kissed him back slowly, taking his time to explore his lover, for the first time without feeling any guilt. He was done feeling guilty for what he was feeling. 

Olivier stopped kissing him and smiled brightly, his eyes suspiciously shiny. Then, he hugged the older boy tight. 

Mathieu hugged back, threading his hand into Olivier’s soft hair. 

“Just making sure that you’re really here and that this isn’t all a dream” he informed, and Mathieu’s chest tightened. 

“I promise you it’s real” Mathieu assured him, holding him tighter. 

Then, he kissed him again, hard and demanding. Olivier answered by getting on top of him, placing his hands on Mathieu’s hips, the older boy’s T-shirt rising up a little, exposing a sliver of skin. Olivier’s lips left Mathieu’s to glide down, stopping on his neck, where he nipped at the skin, dragging a shuddering breath out of the older boy. Mathieu slid his hands under Olivier’s T-shirt and dragged his short nails over his back, leaving faint marks in their trail, making the younger boy groan from a mix of pain and pleasure. Feeling Olivier’s hard-on against his thigh, Mathieu bit his lip to keep an embarrassing sound from escaping his lips and took his lover’s shirt off, taking a few seconds to admire his toned upper body before going back to kissing him, not without a hint of desperation. 

Olivier separated himself from their embrace, sliding down Mathieu’s body so that he was facing the older boy’s hips. Mathieu arose from where he was lying down, leaning on his elbows so he could see what Olivier was doing. He stared at him with half-lidded eyes, holding his bottom lip between his teeth. Olivier left an open-mouthed kiss on Mathieu’s skin, just above the elastic band of his sweatpants, having apparently decided to be a fucking tease. Mathieu’s arms started shaking so he lied back down. Olivier drew a path from Mathieu’s lower stomach to his chest, dragging his T-shirt up with him as he went. When he reached the older boy’s right nipple, he sucked hard on the nub, making him hiss and arch into him, seeking friction. 

“Fuck, Oli” He cursed in a pleading tone, gripping Olivier’s hair tightly. 

However, the younger boy didn’t take pity on him and just went further up, licking Mathieu’s gorgeous tattoo. He then took his T-shirt off completely to get better access, leaving them both bare-chested. 

They were now both breathing hard, their clothed dicks rubbing against each other at every move, sending sparks of pleasure through their heated bodies.

Olivier was occupied sucking on Mathieu’s neck and was going to slide Mathieu’s pants down when a knock on their door interrupted them. 

“Fuck” Mathieu cursed again in a low voice, even though it was for a reason of a different nature. 

“Coming!” Olivier yelled. 

“I wish” Mathieu mumbled, annoyed at the interruption. 

“Now is not the time for sex-puns” Olivier declared, even though he was trying not to laugh. He got up from the bed hurriedly and putting his shirt back on. However, he lost a few seconds by mistaking Mathieu’s T-shirt for his own, so he ended up lacking time for a hair-check. 

When he opened the door (only slightly, so the person behind it couldn’t see Mathieu), he came face to face with Morgan, who stared at him, arching an eyebrow. 

“The coach wants us downstairs in five minutes… Team meeting” Their teammate informed.

“Okay… we’ll be there… thanks” Olivier answered, barely bothering to hide his disappointment. 

“Oh and Oli… Your hair is a bit… messy, to say the least” Morgan informed him. Now there was no doubt left: Olivier and Mathieu hadn’t just spent their time talking… Olivier having messy hair could only mean one thing. After all, Morgan had never seen him with unruly hair, and he had known him for quite some time. 

“Oh… Thanks for the information” Olivier replied, still a bit shaky. 

“You’re lucky I told Hugo I would tell you about the meeting… Because he would have done it himself… And you’re not really being subtle” Morgan declared. 

“I know…” Olivier replied, rubbing his neck nervously. “Thank you man, really”

“It’s nothing… Now hurry up lover-boy” His friend advised, “you have three minutes left to make yourselves presentable and get your asses downstairs”

Olivier closed the door in Morgan’s face and started getting ready, Mathieu already putting his shirt back-on, as he had heard everything.

They got downstairs exactly three minutes later, looking a bit flushed but nothing too suspicious. 

The meeting was about tactics, and was so boring that Olivier ended up falling asleep on Mathieu’s shoulder, his upper body bent at an awkward angle because of their height-difference. Thanks coach, way to ruin what could have been a great night, Mathieu thought bitterly.


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks a lot for the support guys! =D You're the reason this fic exists because I wouldn't get the motivation without you ;)
> 
> This chapter is all about fluff. But, don't worry, trouble will arise again... (maybe not right now, but soon ^^). I hope you will like it ;)

Unfortunately, Olivier and Mathieu didn’t get another occasion to be intimate during their trip and, once they would be back home, it would be even harder. 

When they went out of the bus, Samuel and Marie were waiting for them, and the latter noticed immediately that the boys were on speaking terms again. 

“You guys finally realised you were being stupid I see. I’m proud of you, my little babies” She teased them, kissing their cheeks loudly. 

Olivier laughed while Mathieu was occupied rolling his eyes, being embarrassed. Ah, parents…

“I’m happy you finally reconciled” Samuel told them, agreeing with Mathieu’s mother, even though he was letting them know in a far less assertive way. 

“We are too” Olivier replied with a smile. 

However, Mathieu couldn’t help but think they would be a lot less happy if they knew the truth. Olivier ruffled his hair to catch his attention, as if he knew what Mathieu was thinking about and wanted to tell him he shouldn’t be. 

Mathieu swatted his hand away and tried to put his hair back in place. But Olivier had succeeded, as a smile was now gracing the older boy’ face. 

Once they had gone to bed that night, Mathieu had trouble falling asleep. He missed Olivier’s warm body pressed against his. He sighed and turned around for what felt like the thousandth time trying but failing miserably to find a comfortable position. 

Suddenly, the door to his room opened and Mathieu jolted up, startled. 

“Who’s there?” He asked, whispering. 

“It’s me, Olivier” the intruder replied. 

Mathieu switched his lamp on, making Olivier blink as his eyes got accustomed to the light. 

“What are you doing here, Oli?” Mathieu asked, even though the pillow the younger boy was holding could only mean one thing. 

“I… I can’t sleep” Olivier admitted, fidgeting with the pillow case, as a small child would. 

“But… You can’t sleep here Oli… What if one of our parents comes in?” Mathieu asked. 

Olivier took Mathieu’s desk chair and placed it under the door handle so that no one would be able to open the door from outside. 

“If they try to open the door but notice we blocked it, it will look suspicious” Mathieu protested, even though he wanted Olivier to sleep in his bed probably as much as the younger boy wanted to. 

“Yeah… I know… But at least it will give us time to come up with something” Olivier said tentatively, pleading his case. 

Mathieu sighed, debating on whether to accept Olivier’s proposition or not. He really, really wanted to. 

“We really shouldn’t but… okay, come here” he finally agreed, pulling the comforter away so that Olivier could come and lie down beside him. 

He smiled brightly and joined Mathieu in his bed, immediately cuddling with him. Sometimes, Olivier was like a giant Teddy bear, Mathieu thought, amused. 

“Mati… I was wondering…” Olivier started. 

“Yes?” Mathieu encouraged, as Olivier had paused. 

“Are we together now? I mean… boyfriends?” he asked, somewhat tentatively. 

“I-If you want to… yes… sure” Mathieu replied shyly, stammering a bit. 

“Sure I want to” Olivier replied with a bright smile. “Can I kiss you?” he then asked, surprising Mathieu. 

“Yes… of course you can” The older boy assured, taking Olivier’s hand in his. 

Olivier kissed him chastely, contented with just feeling Mathieu’s soft lips on his. 

“Good night, baby” He then said, snuggling into Mathieu and closing his eyes. 

“Good night Oli” Mathieu said back, trying to ignore how his heart was beating violently against his ribcage. 

Okay, it didn’t sound that huge for someone to be called ‘baby’ by their boyfriend, but Mathieu couldn’t help it and reacted strongly nonetheless. It felt so good to finally be with Olivier… 

Despite his excitement, Mathieu finally managed to fall asleep, soothed by the presence of the younger boy. 

After this night, they rarely ever slept in separated beds anymore. They both knew it was risky, but they couldn’t bring themselves to care enough to stop. Plus, they started needing each other to sleep well, and it only got worse as time went on. 

Sometimes, it was hard to keep their hands to themselves, but they were already being reckless enough not to add having sex while their parents were in the house to the list of the things they shouldn’t be doing but were anyway. 

One morning, Olivier didn’t move after the alarm had rung, signalling it was time for them to get up if they didn’t want to be late for class. 

“Oli?” Mathieu questioned, shaking him slightly, hoping it would manage waking him up. 

All he obtained in reply was a groan. 

“Are you alright baby?” Mathieu asked worriedly. 

As Olivier didn’t answer, Mathieu put a hand on his cheek and felt heat radiating off him. 

“Fuck, you’re burning up” he cursed, even though Olivier was so out of it that he would probably not understand anything of what he was saying. 

Mathieu got up hurriedly and went looking for a glass of water and an aspirin and then sat down on the edge of the bed with the glass in his hands. 

“Oli, baby, I know it’s hard but you have to sit up” He told him softly, caressing his hair comfortingly, hoping it would coax him into doing what he had asked. 

“Please… honey” Mathieu tried again, squeezing his shoulder. 

Olivier opened his eyes slightly, which was progress, right? And then he sat up very slowly, closing his eyes again and gripping Mathieu’s arm as if to steady himself. 

“Come on, take this, you’ll feel better” Mathieu assured him, putting the glass in his hands delicately but not letting go of it completely, afraid Olivier would let it fall. He also had to help him raise the glass to his lips, as his hands were shaking badly, but in the end the younger boy swallowed its content down.

“Good… now you can go back to sleep” Mathieu whispered to him before kissing his forehead. 

Mathieu watched as Olivier lied back down, putting the comforter over his head as if he wanted to cut himself away from the rest of the world. He was worried for him, but he had to go to school… eventually. Both Marie and Samuel had already left the house, so he couldn’t tell them about Olivier. 

There was also the fact that Olivier was currently in his bed and didn’t look like he would be moving to his own any time soon… If one of their parents came home before Mathieu and found Olivier there, they would maybe start asking questions… Mathieu’s room was the closest to the stairs though, so they could always lie and say that Olivier was so tired that he couldn’t reach his own room or that he was so out of it that he hadn’t even noticed it was Mathieu’s room. 

“Are you gonna be okay Oli?” Mathieu asked. 

Olivier replied with a small groan, which Mathieu interpreted as affirmative. 

“I left a water bottle on the bedside table” He then informed. “See you tonight baby” he said before leaving. 

When Mathieu arrived at school, Morgan came to him and asked:

“Where’s Olivier?” 

“Hi Morgan, nice to see you too” Mathieu answered ironically. 

“Sorry” Morgan blushed “It’s just… I’m surprised he isn’t with you…” 

“He’s sick… I think he caught the flu or something” Mathieu informed, trying to hide how worried he was. He knew Olivier would be fine, and that it was just a common sickness, especially at that time of the year, but he couldn’t help but worry anyway. He hated seeing his loved-ones hurt. 

“Oh… Shit, that sucks” Morgan complained. “It’s not fair… You’re wearing a hoody in the middle of December when all of us wear coats and scarfs, and Olivier is the one who caught the flu. Bloody people from the North” 

“Yeah… plus, he’s always telling me to put something warmer on and I always tell him there’s no need…” Great, now he was feeling guilty for something he wasn’t even responsible of. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad… it was just a joke” Morgan apologised. 

“Don’t worry about it” Mathieu waved him off. “Can you take the homework for Oli, please? You can give it to me during training tonight”

“Sure. Olivier will be really happy you thought about that… No doubt about it” Morgan laughed. 

“Indeed… I would be delighted if I were him” Mathieu replied with a smile. 

Mathieu had trouble concentrating in class that day, getting complains from many of his teachers (especially his maths teacher, but the guy always complained anyway). Each time, he would blush and reply that he was sorry. 

“Olivier isn’t going to die you know?” Laurent told him knowingly as they were eating lunch… or, well, Laurent was eating while Mathieu was occupied contemplating his food and pushing it around his plate with his fork. 

“I know… It’s just… I hate seeing him like that… and I hope he’s alright… I left him alone at home, our parents aren’t there and…” Mathieu rambled. 

“Hey, hey, calm down mate, it’s going to be fine” Laurent assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder. 

“I hope so…” Mathieu replied. 

Laurent realised Mathieu was really worried when he considered not going to training to be able to go home to Olivier sooner. 

“No, no, no. You’re coming. You would regret not going, and Olivier would feel guilty for making you miss training.” Laurent protested. “Plus, you have to see Morgan so he can give you Olivier’s homework and stuff.” 

“Yeah… You’re right… probably” Mathieu agreed, but he was seemingly lost in thoughts, far away, as if he were imagining the state Olivier was currently in. 

“Mathieu, come on, make an effort, think about something else” Laurent advised. 

Fortunately, Mathieu received a text message from Olivier at some point during the afternoon, and everything felt better after that. 

From: Olivier  
To: Mathieu  
“I feel a bit better, thank you taking care of me this morning. See you tonight <3”

Mathieu smiled brightly, typing a quick reply before putting his phone back in his pocket. 

“Why are you smiling like that?” Laurent asked him, looking suspicious.

“Oh… for nothing” Mathieu lied. 

Laurent didn’t look convinced at all, though, and he kept glancing suspiciously at Mathieu for the rest of the afternoon, even though the latter was too happy to notice. 

When they arrived at training, Mathieu went to Hugo and told him why Olivier wasn’t there. Then, he went to Morgan to get back everything Olivier’s teachers had handed out that day. 

Morgan started rummaging through his schoolbag as he saw Mathieu approach. 

“Here you go” he told him, handing a batch of papers to him. “I wrote the homework on that sheet” he informed, gesturing to the first sheet of the pile. 

“Thanks Mo’” Mathieu said as he took the papers from him. 

“You’re welcome” Morgan smiled. Then, he seemed to suddenly remember something, “Oh, and I’d like you to meet Rémy… He is a new pupil, he’s gonna do try outs for the football team” he told him, putting his hand on a little guy’s shoulder. 

“Nice to meet you” Mathieu smiled. 

“Likewise” Rémy smiled back, albeit a bit shyly. Mathieu could relate to that. He had been stressed out too when he first arrived, and it had to be even worse to change schools when the school year had already started. 

Mathieu started changing into his football kit, and he could hear Morgan tell Rémy that he would be fine, and that people here were really nice. It was somewhat cute. 

Mathieu wasn’t at the top of his capacities during training, but it was less awful than it had been in class: first, because it was football, and second, because he knew that Olivier was feeling a bit better. At least, he had been feeling well enough to send him a text. When the training session was over, Mathieu showered and changed in five minutes and then nearly ran home. 

“Hi honey” His mother greeted him when he arrived. 

“Hey mom, no time, talk to you later” he rushed out, getting rid of his sports bag before running upstairs to his room. 

However, Olivier wasn’t in his bed anymore. He panicked for a second before realising Olivier had most probably just got back to his room. Indeed, he found the younger boy there, on his bed, facing the wall. Mathieu rushed to his side. 

“Are you okay Oli?” he asked with concern, sitting at the edge of his bed. 

“I’ve been better… but it’s okay” Olivier replied in a hoarse voice, still not turning towards Mathieu. 

Mathieu wanted to put his hand on Olivier’s forehead to check if he still had fever, but the older boy recoiled from the touch. 

Mathieu withdrew his hand, confusion written on his face. 

“Oli… did I do something wrong?” He asked with a frown which Olivier couldn’t see. 

Olivier sighed audibly, putting his face in his hands as he lied on his back, before replying: “No… It’s just… I don’t want you to see me like this” 

“Why not?” Mathieu asked in a soft tone. 

“Because I look horrible… and weak” Olivier mumbled. 

Mathieu put his hands on Olivier’s forearms, trying to pry his hands away from his face.

“Look at me Olivier, please” He requested. 

Once the younger boy had reluctantly stopped hiding and was now looking at him (even though his gaze kept shying away once in a while), Mathieu told him: 

“I don’t care about how you look, alright? And you’re not weak… you’re sick, it happens to everyone once in a while, you don’t have to hide from me because of it”. Then, he added as an afterthought: “Plus, you look cute like that”. It was true, Olivier with tousled hair, a red nose and sleepy eyes was such an endearing sight. 

“I’m sorry…” Olivier mumbled. “You’re being nice to me… and you’ve taken care of me this morning and this is how I’m thanking you…”

“It’s okay… don’t beat yourself up… I wasn’t scolding you or anything… I just wanted you to feel comfortable around me” Mathieu assured him, caressing Olivier’s hair as he had been doing in the morning. 

They stayed in comfortable silence for a while, before they heard Mathieu’s mother yelling that dinner was ready. 

“Are you hungry?” Mathieu asked. 

“Not very much no…” the younger boy answered. 

“Okay, I’ll let them know… Oh, and, before I forget, Morgan gave me the homework you have to do” He informed. 

“Oh… That’s great” Olivier replied ironically. “Thank you anyway”

“You’re welcome sweetie” Mathieu said teasingly, kissing his cheek. “See you in a few” he then said before leaving the room. 

Once he had sat down at the kitchen table, he told Samuel and Marie that Olivier was still in bed and wouldn’t come down for dinner. 

“Yeah, I was expecting it, he’s never hungry when he’s sick” Samuel remarked. “Though… he’s not behaving the same as usual, so I couldn’t be a hundred percent sure” 

“What do you mean?” Mathieu asked, confused. 

“Well he never wants to see anyone usually, and he stays alone until he’s healthy again… But this time he let you near him… I was quite shocked” Samuel explained. 

“Oh…” Mathieu simply replied. Learning about this just warmed his heart. It had to mean he was special to Olivier, and it made him feel proud somehow. 

“Well, it’s good Olivier has someone to take care of him when he is sick now” Marie said with a smile as they started eating. 

Once again, Mathieu wasn’t sure she would be that glad if she knew that, in fact, Olivier and he were together… in a more-than-friendly relationship. 

He got back upstairs as soon as he was finished with dinner, going straight to Olivier’s room. 

“You don’t have to stay with me… You’re going to get bored very quickly… All I do is staring at the ceiling, falling asleep, waking up and falling asleep again” Olivier told him. 

“I don’t care, I want to stay” Mathieu told him. “Wait, I’m gonna go looking for my pillow” 

“You… You’re not gonna sleep here, are you?” Olivier asked. 

“Well… Why wouldn’t I?” Mathieu asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Because I’m sick… You can’t sleep here… You’re gonna get sick too…” Olivier told him. 

“You slept in my bed last night, so if I go and sleep there, it will be the same” Mathieu contoured. 

“Well, change your sheets then” Olivier advised. 

“But… I really want to sleep with you” Mathieu protested. He wouldn’t be able to sleep without him anyway. Then, he had a sudden realisation.

“Oh… I’m sorry… you want to be alone, don’t you? You should have said so earlier… I totally get it… You’re sick, you want to be alone…” Mathieu rambled, thinking back to what Olivier’s father had explained to him during dinner. 

“No, no, no… I want to sleep with you too… It’s just… I don’t want you to get sick because of me” Olivier replied hastily. 

Mathieu looked at him fondly. Olivier was watching over him, wasn’t it sweet? Damn, they were being awfully cheesy. 

“I’ll be fine… And if not, then I don’t mind… I have probably already been contaminated anyway, with how much time I already spent with you.” Mathieu assured him. 

Then, not leaving time for Olivier to protest, he went to his own room to take his pillow and went back to Olivier’s room, blocking the door with a chair once he was inside.

“Come on, scoot over” Mathieu requested as he took his shirt off, his pants following. 

“You don’t mind going to bed at 8.30?” Olivier asked in disbelief. 

“Nah, it’s fine, I’ll just revise for my economy test on Monday” Mathieu told him, taking a file out of his schoolbag. 

“Alright… If you’re certain” Olivier mumbled. 

“I am” Mathieu assured, lying down next to Olivier, who was also in underwear. 

As the younger boy stubbornly stayed as far away as he could from Mathieu, the latter told him: 

“Oli… I’m already in your bed, I don’t think I’d take much more risks if you got closer.” 

“Maybe” Olivier mumbled, agreeing reluctantly. 

“Come on… don’t be stubborn, just come here” Mathieu tried again, not leaving him be until he finally snuggled into him, putting his head on Mathieu’s chest and draping his arm over his stomach. 

“Satisfied?” Olivier asked, falsely annoyed. 

“Very much” Mathieu replied with a smile. 

They spent the rest of the evening like that, with Mathieu caressing Olivier’s hair while going over his notes for his economy test. The younger boy kept falling in and out of slumber, as feverish people often did. 

From time to time, Olivier would mutter incoherent things, making Mathieu smile. 

“You smell good” He mumbled at some point. Though, he didn’t stop there, adding a few seconds later: 

“I love you” 

Mathieu’s eyes widen at that, and his heart started beating fast. He didn’t know if Olivier was being honest or if he was just talking nonsense, but one thing was sure… 

“I love you too” Mathieu whispered back, almost certain that Olivier wouldn’t remember anything of what he had said in the morning, as he was half-asleep, barely conscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to let you know that Mathieu not being sick even though he's not wearing a coat is inspired from the time I spent living in Paris, because I was never wearing a coat and I didn't get sick, while one of my friends, who comes from the South of France, caught a cold even though she was wearing one ^^. So, it's realistic I suppose =P


	15. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is smut at the end of this chapter, and I hope it isn't too awful.   
> Thanks for reading, leaving kudos and reviewing ;)

The next morning, Olivier was feeling better, fortunately. 

 

“Morning” Mathieu greeted him, pecking his lips. 

 

“Mh, morning” Olivier replied with a small smile, his voice still hoarse from sleeping. 

 

“Are you okay?” Mathieu then asked. 

 

“I am yeah… What about you?” Olivier returned the question. 

 

“I’m alright” Mathieu told him. 

 

“Good.” Olivier replied, then he paused, apparently debating on what to say. “Mati… I’d like to know… Did I say anything… well, let’s say, out of line yesterday?” 

 

“Mmh… Well, you said some weird stuff but it was okay… feverish people make no sense sometimes… Why are you asking?” Mathieu answered, leaving out the love confession Olivier had made.

 

“Oh… Because I said things I shouldn’t have said in the past… when I was sick… That’s part of why I prefer being alone” Olivier explained. 

 

“When you say ‘things you shouldn’t have said’… what do you mean exactly?” Mathieu asked. 

 

“Well, if I really did say what people told me I did… I suppose I say things that are true, but that I hadn’t meant to tell people. For instance… I say what I think… but not always nice things you know…” Olivier told him. “Why? I said something… didn’t I?” He then asked worriedly. 

 

“Oh… Don’t worry, it was nothing too bad… You said a bunch of stuff…” Mathieu told him. At least, Olivier had said that what he was saying was true… So it had to mean he really loved him. But Mathieu decided not to talk to him about it. Olivier would tell him again when he was ready… and he wouldn’t be delirious that time, hopefully. 

 

“Like what?” Olivier asked, bracing himself. 

 

“Like… That you think I smell good…” Mathieu replied truthfully. He wasn’t lying, he was just hiding part of the truth. 

 

“This is quite embarrassing…” Olivier remarked, blushing a bit. 

 

“No… It’s… nice, I suppose” Mathieu corrected. 

 

“Well… at least I’m sure I didn’t tell you anything mean…” Olivier told him. 

 

“How can you be sure?” Mathieu asked curiously. 

 

“Because I like everything about you” Olivier said. Shit… it didn’t sound that cheesy in my head, he thought.

 

Mathieu was blushing tomato red. It hadn’t been a love confession, but it was close enough. 

 

“I like everything about you too…” He admitted, not looking at Olivier. 

 

The younger boy smiled and kissed him on the cheek. He would have kissed him on the lips, but he didn’t want Mathieu to get sick because of him. Of course, it was a bit stupid, because Mathieu had spent the whole night cuddling with him, but whatever…

 

Mathieu had been feeling fine in the morning. However, in the afternoon, Olivier could see a change in his boyfriend’s state. He had started sneezing quite often, and his eyes were red and puffy. As he was preparing his bag for the football match, he was shaking so much that he was barely able to walk. 

 

“Mathieu… I don’t think there is any point in preparing your football stuff” Olivier told him. 

 

“What do you mean?” The older boy asked, totally in denial. 

 

“Well, you’re obviously going to stay here too… You can barely walk… You’re not going to run for ninety minutes…” Olivier said matter-of-factly. 

 

“I’m perfectly fine” Mathieu protested, still doing his bag. 

 

Olivier replied nothing, understanding that Mathieu was hell-bent on being stubborn. 

 

“Mati, honey… You’re packing your swimming suit” Olivier informed, half-worried, half-amused. 

 

“Oh… Yeah… I totally did that on purpose” Mathieu assured, making Olivier roll his eyes. 

 

The younger boy quickly came up with a plan, deciding on trying a different approach: 

 

“Sweetheart, the match only starts in two hours… I was thinking of taking a nap… would you come with me? I can’t sleep when you aren’t there” He asked innocently. 

 

“Mmh… yeah… alright. But just for half-an-hour” Mathieu agreed, speaking very slowly, with a damaged voice. 

 

Olivier led him upstairs. Mathieu was having trouble walking but, of course, he was stubbornly refusing any help to stay upright. 

 

“I’m fine, I’m fine” He assured Olivier each time the younger boy tried to assist him. 

 

“Of course you are” Olivier agreed, going along. 

 

They went to Olivier’s room. He would have preferred for Mathieu to be in his own bed, but the older boy would have found that suspicious, and it didn’t make much of a difference by now anyway. 

 

Unsurprisingly, Mathieu fell asleep less than five minutes after they had lied down, sickness catching up on him. 

 

Olivier smiled, satisfied, before sending a text to Hugo, asking him to tell the coach Mathieu was sick and couldn’t come to the match. Mathieu would probably kill him when he woke up, but Olivier was sure he wouldn’t have been able to make it anyway. For now, however, Olivier could just enjoy watching Mathieu sleep. And, really, it was less creepy than it sounded. 

 

The calm and quiet didn’t last long, sadly, as Mathieu woke up about one hour and a half later. He was disoriented at first, but soon, he seemed to realise where (and, more importantly, when) he was. 

 

“Shit… what time is it?” Mathieu asked frantically. 

 

"Half past three” Olivier told him calmly, trying to hold Mathieu down as he tried to get up from the bed. 

 

“Let me go Olivier, maybe I can still make it to the match” Mathieu requested, trying to shake him away, but he was too weak. 

 

“Mati… You’re sick… just admit it for God’s sake” Olivier told him.

 

“I’m not. I’m fine. Let me go!” Mathieu snapped. 

 

Olivier reluctantly let him go. He wouldn’t get far anyway. 

 

Mathieu got up quickly. Too quickly. He made a few steps, reaching for the door before his head started spinning and he had to steady himself. Then, he slumped down, defeated, sliding down the wall. 

 

Olivier got up and walked out of the room wordlessly. Mathieu probably needed a few minutes to come to terms with the fact he was sick. He came back a few minutes later with an aspirin and sat down beside Mathieu, handing him the glass. 

 

“Thanks” Mathieu mumbled, not looking at him. 

 

“You’re welcome” Olivier replied softly, showing him that he wasn’t holding it against him.

 

“I’m sorry… For behaving like a stubborn child” Mathieu apologised before a coughing fit prevented him from saying anything else. 

 

“It’s fine… I’m sorry too… for making you sick” Olivier told him guiltily. 

 

Mathieu looked up at that, and then took Olivier’s hand in his. 

 

“It’s not your fault” he reassured him, “You tried to keep me away but I insisted… And I don’t regret it”. 

 

“You should go back to bed” Olivier advised as Mathieu had finished drinking his aspirin. 

 

“Nah, I’m fine here…” Mathieu said innocently. 

 

“Mathieu” Olivier said in a scolding tone. 

 

Mathieu whined pitifully:

 

“I hate being sick… It’s so boring” he said. 

 

“I think everyone hates it, love… Well, some a bit less than others, maybe” Olivier replied with a smile. “Come on” Olivier urged him, getting up and extending his hand to help him get up. 

 

Mathieu was staring at his hand in dismay, still not wanting to go back to bed. 

 

“I’ll stay with you” Olivier added, hoping it would convince his boyfriend. 

 

It did work. Mathieu took his hand and got up slowly. Then, they both got back to bed, Mathieu’s one this time, cuddling together. 

 

When dinner time came, Olivier got downstairs without Mathieu, who still wasn’t feeling well. He ate quickly and then got back to his boyfriend. 

 

“Aren’t you bored, staying here while I sleep?” Mathieu asked. Sure, Olivier was still a bit sick, but he wasn’t in the same phase as Mathieu. He probably didn’t feel like sleeping all day. 

 

“No, I’m never bored when I’m with you” Olivier replied. Shit, he was being cheesy again… And Mathieu was blushing again. 

 

“Alright then… As you want” Mathieu said, the corner of his lips twitching up in a smile. 

 

At about eleven, Mathieu had a coughing fit and, at some point, there was a knock on the door. Mathieu and Olivier looked at each other in despair. 

 

“Don’t come in! I’m naked” Mathieu yelled. 

 

Olivier stared at him with a raised eyebrow. 

 

Mathieu shrugged his shoulders. He had given the first plausible excuse which had come to him. He then gestured to the cupboard, hoping Olivier would get it, as he started undressing. 

 

When Olivier was hidden, Mathieu put a towel around his waist and went to open the door, moving away the chair which was blocking it as silently as he could. 

 

“Hey sweetie, I just wanted to know if you were alright” His mother asked him, worried. She had most certainly heard him coughing. 

 

“Yeah…” Mathieu replied, “I was just gonna go take a shower”. Even though it was late, the excuse was quite believable, as he hadn’t taken one yet. He had been too tired to do it sooner. He was still too tired, to be honest, but he would start stinking if he didn’t… 

 

“Alright…” Marie told him. “See you tomorrow honey” 

 

“Yes… good night” He replied, hoping she hadn’t find weird. 

 

Once she was gone, Olivier could get out of the cupboard. 

 

“Damn, you’re a good liar. You took care of this situation like a pro” Olivier whispered, quite impressed. 

 

“Well… When you’ve been hiding your homosexuality for years, you learn to be… resourceful, let’s say” Mathieu replied. 

 

“You’ve been in this kind of situations before?” Olivier asked, curious, and also jealous. Sure, he had suspected Mathieu wasn’t a novice in the relationship department, but suspecting it and knowing about it were two different things entirely. 

 

“Mmh, yeah” Mathieu replied, biting his lip while he thought about… well, certain things. “Let’s not talk about that” 

 

“Sure… as you want…” Olivier replied, a tad bitterly. He knew it was stupid to react that way, but love made people stupid anyway.

 

“Hey… don’t be like that, Oli. I’m sure you had plenty of girlfriends.” Mathieu told him. “The important is that, now, we’re together. Past relationships don’t matter anymore”. 

 

“You’re right… I’m sorry, forget about it” Olivier assured him. 

 

“Don’t worry… It’s already forgotten.” Mathieu assured him. “Now I’m going to take a shower… Because else my mother will know I lied.”

 

Once he was done, he wanted to go back to sleep… with Olivier, of course. However… he had realised they were taking huge risks by sleeping in the same bed every night. Well, he had already known… but he had kind of dismissed the issue until now. 

 

So, when he got back to his room, where he found Olivier lying on his bed, he told him sadly:

 

“Look Oli… I think it’d be better if we got back to sleeping in separate rooms” 

 

“Why? Did I do something wrong?” Olivier asked, worried that their relationship could be on the line. 

 

“What?” Mathieu asked confused. Then, realising what Olivier meant, he said: “Oh no! No, of course not… It’s just that I fully realised how risky it was to sleep in the same bed when my mom knocked, sooner” 

 

“Oh…” Olivier said, relieved. “Okay… If this is what you want”. 

 

“No, this isn’t what I want… I’m gonna spend a shitty night… I will probably not sleep well at all. But, I don’t want one of our parents to find out about us that way… it would ruin everything” Mathieu told him, feeling quite downcast. 

 

“Yeah… you’re right… Being the reasonable one once again” Olivier replied, giving a small sad smile. “So… I guess I’ll just go” he added. 

 

Mathieu nodded before hugging him tight. Olivier hugged him back before kissing him… hard. The older boy kissed back eagerly, even though he knew he shouldn’t. They separated only a few seconds later, but they were both out of breath. It had been one hell of a kiss. 

 

“Are you doing that to punish me?” Mathieu asked, only half-joking. It was already hard enough without Olivier kissing the hell out of him. 

 

“No… I know it might sound stupid but… I kissed you because I’m going to miss you… Okay, we’re just ten metres away from each other… but still” Olivier explained. “I hate how cheesy I’ve been today”. 

 

“Good I liked it then” Mathieu replied, making Olivier smile. “And I will miss you too, for what it’s worth”. This night was really going to be awful. Mathieu was sure of it. 

 

“So… See you tomorrow” Olivier said, pecking him on the lips one last time before leaving, albeit reluctantly. 

 

As it was expected, they had a shitty night, none of them being able to find sleep, despite how tired they still were because of the cold they had caught. Mathieu was always having shitty nights whenever he was ill, he didn’t need being separated from Olivier in addition to that. 

 

The following nights weren’t better, and at some point, when their parents were at work, Olivier went out and stood under his room’s window with a rock in his hand. 

 

He kept repeating to himself that this was the stupidest idea he had ever had, but he nonetheless ended up throwing the rock at his window as hard as he could. And the stupidest idea he had ever had became the stupidest thing he had ever done. 

 

Mathieu ran to Olivier’s room as he heard the noise and stared in shock at the mess that was the broken window, shattered glass littering the floor. Then, he went at the window and looked outside, discovering Olivier. 

 

“What the fuck Oli?!” He asked, bewildered. 

 

“I… I can explain” Olivier answered. This really was the stupidest fucking thing he had ever done. 

 

“Well come the fuck up here and explain” Mathieu requested. 

 

Olivier did as he was told and went to his room, where Mathieu was still contemplating the mess. 

 

“Why the hell did you do that?” Mathieu asked. 

 

“Well… we aren’t sleeping well… and it’s starting to get out of hands you know… I can’t concentrate anymore, we’re having trouble in school and football practice because of it… And I miss you like crazy… so I thought that if I broke the window… we could sleep in the same room again, like last time” Olivier explained, rubbing his neck nervously. “I know this is stupid… but I’m sleep-deprived, I’m not functioning well”. 

 

Mathieu took Olivier’s head in his hands and pulled the younger boy to him so he could kiss him. 

 

“It was a bit stupid, I have to admit that… But it’s really cute and it can actually work… the only problem will be explaining what happened” Mathieu told him. 

 

“Yeah… Well… I thought that… we could just go take a walk somewhere and come back after at least one of our parents is home… and then we pretend to be surprised that the window’s broken. That way, no one will know we have anything to do with it and it’s all perfect” Olivier proposed, starting by throwing the rock he had used back outside. 

 

“What about the neighbours?” Mathieu asked, “maybe one of them had seen”. 

 

“I don’t think it will be much of a problem… My father isn’t friend with any of them… He greets them when he sees them in the street but nothing more… I don’t think they would get involved in this… they’ll probably stay out of it… it isn’t any of their business. Anyway, if they do decide to tell him, there’s nothing we can do about it anymore” Olivier replied. 

 

“Okay… well, this will have to do then” Mathieu agreed, he didn’t have much of a choice anyway. “Now we should hurry up before our parents come back” 

 

As they went out, Mathieu told him:

 

“Don’t forget your school bag… it will be even more believable if they think we didn’t come home after school”

 

“Yeah. Good insight” Olivier approved, taking his bag. 

 

In the end, their parents did believe them. They were quite upset about not knowing what had happened, and about having to fix the window of course (which made Olivier feel a bit guilty, but he could live with that), but they didn’t question Mathieu and Olivier at all. 

 

Olivier’s bed did end up in Mathieu’s bedroom, which was great news, as it meant they could get back to sleeping together. Well, they could sleep, period. 

 

It became more and more difficult to keep their hands to themselves, but thankfully, they wouldn't have to wait for long, even though they didn't know it at the time. 

 

Indeed, one day, after football training, they found a note left on the table by Olivier’s father: 

 

‘We’re eating at aunt Christine’s tonight, don’t wait for us’ 

It was as if Christmas had come early.

They finished reading at the same time and looked up at the same time. They stared at each other for about a second before crashing their lips together. They kissed with some sort of urgency: tongues battling, teeth colliding once or twice and hands roaming each other’s body. It was every kind of perfect. They had waited for this for an eternity… Sleeping in the same room without being able to do anything more than sleeping was just pure torture. 

 

As they stopped kissing, breathing heavily, Mathieu took Olivier’s hand in his and led him upstairs. His own hand was shaking slightly, which Olivier could probably feel. Mathieu was nervous… but he really wanted him. It was the first time that sex seemed like such a big deal to him… then again, he loved Olivier as he had never loved anyone before him. 

 

Once they were in Mathieu’s bedroom, they kissed again but, this time, it was less rushed… It was slower, but not any less passionate. Then, Mathieu took Olivier’s T-shirt off… Or he tried to, but the younger boy was too tall for him to pass the damn thing over his head. 

 

“Shut up! This isn’t funny” Mathieu pouted as Olivier laughed at him. 

 

“Sorry baby” Olivier apologised, even though he still sounded amused, taking his shirt off himself before going back to kissing his boyfriend. 

 

Mathieu unbuttoned Olivier’s pants and slid them down his legs. After the younger boy had stepped out of them, Mathieu backed him until his legs hit the foot of his bed before pushing him onto it. 

 

“I think you’re overdressed” Olivier said in a hoarse voice. 

 

Mathieu took his shirt off at that, and then his jeans, only leaving his boxers on. He then joined Olivier on the bed, getting on top of him and kissing him languorously. Olivier kissed back immediately, putting his hands on Mathieu’s hips, right above the elastic band of his boxers. They kept kissing without going further, each of them waiting for the other to snap and just do something more. Olivier was the first one to: rolling them over so he was on top of Mathieu, making the older boy moan as their clothed hard-ons rubbed against each other. Olivier bit Mathieu’s lower lip lightly, making him moan again. Fucking tease. He slid his hands lower, reaching Mathieu’s boxers. Slipping his thumbs under the elastic band, he asked: 

 

“Can I?” in a husky voice which showed Mathieu how affected his boyfriend really was. 

 

The older boy nodded, not trusting his voice at that moment. 

 

Olivier slid his boxers down slowly, freeing Mathieu’s erection from the confine of the material. When Olivier’s hand finally came into contact with his cock, Mathieu thrust his hips up reflexively, shutting his eyes tight at the feeling. 

 

“Fuck”, he cursed as Olivier started jerking him off slowly. 

 

“Is this okay?” The younger boy asked. 

 

“Yeah… It… feels g-great” Mathieu stammered, breathing heavily, biting his lip to keep himself from moaning. 

 

“You can be as loud as you want you know… we’re all alone” Olivier whispered in his ear, wanting to hear his boyfriend moan. 

 

Just hearing Olivier say that was enough for Mathieu to moan loudly… Well, maybe the fact his hand was going up and down his cock also had a part in this. 

 

Mathieu could feel himself getting close embarrassingly fast. 

 

“Stop, Oli, please” He whispered brokenly. 

 

His boyfriend instantly stopped, visibly worried:

 

“Did I do something wrong?” 

 

“No… no, it’s perfect… It’s just… Maybe it’s a little too perfect” Mathieu said, blushing brightly. 

 

“Oh…” Olivier replied in understanding. “It’s okay, you know… I got fully hard the exact same second I got my hand on your dick… So I’m pretty sure we can agree that I’m as desperate as you are… Also, pleasuring you was kinda what I was going for, so you can come any time you want” he assured him, making him blush even harder. Okay, so Olivier talked about sex very openly. Mathieu couldn’t say he was surprised about that. 

 

“O-okay then” Mathieu replied. 

 

Olivier smiled and went back to his ministrations, making a writhing mess of Mathieu in no time. Soon, the older boy was coming hard in Olivier’s hand, moaning his name brokenly. 

 

When he had come down from his high, Mathieu kissed Olivier briefly before pushing him to lie down on the bed. He then took a tissue from the box on his bedside table and wiped Olivier’s hand clean, and then threw the tissue away carelessly. They would take care of the mess later. Mathieu had something else in mind right now. 

 

He kissed Olivier slowly before moving to his neck, where he sucked hard at the skin with the intention of leaving a hickey (because, yes, maybe he was a bit kinky sometimes). The younger boy whimpered, writhing under Mathieu, who could feel his boyfriend’s erection poking his thigh, which made him smile deviously. Once he was satisfied, he moved to Olivier’s chest, kissing down to his abs, then reaching his destination. Without warning, he started sucking Olivier through his boxers, teasing him mercilessly. 

 

“Fuck” Olivier cursed loudly, throwing his head back. “Mathieu… Please” He begged. 

 

“Please what?” Mathieu asked, eager to hear his boyfriend voice what he wanted. 

 

“Please… I need more…” Olivier answered. 

 

Mathieu stopped teasing him at that, taking the younger boy’s boxers off. He took a second to enjoy the sight of Olivier’s hard shaft before he licked a stripe from the base to the tip, making his boyfriend curse again, his voice breaking at the end. 

 

Mathieu then sucked on the head of Olivier’s cock before going further down, hollowing his cheek as he went. 

 

Olivier was watching his boyfriend going down on him, mesmerized by how erotic the sight was. Fuck, he should stop watching, else he wouldn’t last long at all, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away. He didn’t stop staring until Mathieu had reached the base of his cock, because at that point, he had to close his eyes for a second and concentrate not to come at the feeling of warmth and wetness surrounding his cock. 

 

Mathieu then went up, only to go down again a second later, making Olivier arch up reflexively. Thankfully, Mathieu was holding his hips down, so he wouldn't risk choking. Olivier gripped the sheets tight, driven mad with pleasure. As Mathieu started humming around him, sending vibrations through his cock, Olivier felt he was close to his orgasm and put his hand in Mathieu’s hair, tugging slightly. 

 

“I… I’m gonna come” He warned him. 

 

However, Mathieu didn’t move away, only getting all the way down on Olivier’s cock, deepthroating him. This unexpected move from his boyfriend got the better of Olivier, who came hard down his throat with a loud moan, his hand gripping Mathieu’s hair. 

 

“Fuck Mathieu… This was brilliant” Olivier praised him as the older boy got back up to his level. 

 

Mathieu kissed him at that, and Olivier could taste himself on his boyfriend's tongue. He couldn’t believe how obscene and hot this was. 

 

“You’re not the same at all when you’re in sex-mode…” Olivier remarked later, while they were cuddling. 

 

Mathieu blushed at that, having obviously gotten back to his usual self. 

 

“Is it good different?” He asked shyly. 

 

“I thought that much was obvious… Don’t get me wrong, your shyness is really cute, and I love it… But it was really hot to see how daring and straightforward you could be when you got in control” Olivier told him, making Mathieu bit his lip, feeling self-conscious and a bit proud at the same time. 

 

“You should stop biting your lip” Olivier told him, kissing him lightly, “These wonders don’t deserve such bad treatment."

 

“Stop it” Mathieu told him, blushing again. 

 

“You don’t know how to take a compliment” Olivier said with a smile. “That’s cute."

 

“You’re doing that on purpose to make me blush” Mathieu affirmed. 

 

“Maybe I am yeah…” Olivier admitted, still smiling, before going back to kissing his boyfriend, who (obviously) kissed back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For your information, I'm posting this chapter from my phone because I'm doing camping and am currently in a tent. As a result, I was battling with my phone for twenty minutes at least before finally managing to post ^^ and my friend kept laughing at me. So I think I deserve a reward :P => please review guys :)


	16. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! =D I want to thank you again for your support, because it can never be said enough ;)
> 
> Now I'll just rant about cute videos I've watched of Cabuchy and Girouchy: 
> 
> I just wanted to let you guys know that I watched an old vid of Debuchy and Cabaye when they were still playing for LOSC, and they were sleeping in the same hotel room the night before a game... I had already seen a gif but, strangely, it only struck me when I watched the whole thing that... there was just one bed... Like, seriously =O they were sleeping in the same bed. How cute is that? 
> 
> Also, I saw another video where Debuchy talks about the kiss between Olivier and him. I suppose a journalist asked him in a press conference something about the fact he would see Olivier again on the following day in the National Team (because at that time Mathieu was still playing for LOSC too) and he said "Do you have something in mind?" with a knowing smile (knowing that the journalist was referring to their kiss), making the journalists laugh, and then he complimented Olivier and said he would be very happy to see him again on the following day. That's where the people presenting the news broadcast went on fangirl mode (even though one of them was a man =P) and said "It's cute", and the gril said "They kept fond memories of it" (talking about the kiss). This is official, French journalists ship Girouchy. 
> 
> Wow, I just wrote giant Chapter Notes, didn't I? ^^

When their alarm rang the next morning, both boys groaned unhappily, not wanting to get up. Mathieu found the courage to move a few minutes after he had switched his alarm off and shook Olivier. 

“Come on baby, time to get up” 

“No… I don’t want to” Olivier complained. “I’ll just stay here for a while.” 

“No, you get up right now. Else, we both know how this is going to turn out” Mathieu told him. 

Olivier opened his eyes reluctantly, only to stare at Mathieu with puppy dog eyes. 

“This is not going to work baby” Mathieu told him, tugging strongly on his arm to take him out of bed. “Fuck it, you’re too heavy” he said. 

“I have a proposition for you…” He informed, making Olivier perk up with interest. 

“I’m listening” Olivier declared. 

“Either you stay in bed until I finished taking a shower, and you know getting up then won’t be easier than it is right now… Or you can get up now and come shower with me” Mathieu proposed. 

Mathieu had never seen Olivier get up so fast. Plus, he couldn’t say his part of the deal would be hard to do… he could imagine worst things than showering with Olivier (huge understatement). 

Mathieu smiled at his boyfriend and took his hand, leading him to the bathroom, Olivier following him as if he were hypnotized. Mathieu then turned the radio on loudly… Marie and Samuel were probably still here and they couldn’t find out that Mathieu and Olivier were taking a shower together… Plus, it would probably not stay entirely innocent. They had self-control but they weren’t robots.

They didn’t have to undress as they were already naked, so they directly went in the shower cubicle. It was a close fit, and Mathieu ended up knocking a bottle of shampoo down but in the end they managed alright and they could turn the water on. 

They didn’t stay apart for too long, as they started kissing almost immediately. They hadn’t even tried to resist, to be honest. 

“We’re going to be late for class” Mathieu said after a while. 

“Why must you always be reasonable?” Olivier complained. Mathieu stared at him pointedly, so the younger boy ended relenting: 

“Okay, fine, close your eyes” he requested. 

“Why?” Mathieu asked, a bit confused. 

“Don’t worry, just do it” Olivier told him. 

When the older boy closed his eyes, Olivier took the bottle of shampoo and poured some over his fingers before he started massaging Mathieu’s scalp. The latter sighed contentedly, enjoying the feeling of his boyfriend’s hands in his hair. He then returned the favour, which was a bit difficult: 

“You’re too tall” Mathieu complained, as he had trouble reaching his boyfriend’s hair. 

“Or maybe you’re too small” Olivier countered with a teasing smile. 

“Hey! I’m average. You, on the other hand…” Mathieu said. 

“Ouch, I’m hurt…” Olivier joked, fake-pouting, as he leaned down a bit so his boyfriend could reach him more easily. 

Mathieu rolled his eyes: 

“I love your hair if it can make you feel better” he declared, passing his hands slowly through it, spreading the foam. 

“Mmh, thanks. You’re the only one allowed to touch it” Olivier informed. 

“I’m flattered really” Mathieu replied with a smile. 

“Well you can be, it means a lot you know” Olivier said seriously. No one touched his hair, ever. No one beside Mathieu. 

Mathieu smiled even though Olivier couldn’t see him and pecked his lips, intending to keep it brief. However, Olivier didn’t want to hear any of it and gripped the back of Mathieu’s head to bring their lips together again. They kissed languidly, not caring that Mathieu still had his hands in Olivier’s hair, full of shampoo. At one point, Mathieu turned the shower back on but kept on kissing Olivier anyway. 

It got totally out of hands soon after, when they started using soap. It was highly predictable after all. Their hands ended up wandering down each other’s body, arousal coursing through both of them. Olivier, quite literally taking matters into his own hands, started jerking both of them off, which made Mathieu grip his upper arm tightly. 

As Olivier started applying more pressure, Mathieu cursed lowly and hid his face in the juncture between his boyfriend’s neck and shoulder, hoping it would muffle the sounds he would probably start making anytime soon. 

Olivier was gripping Mathieu’s hair with his free hand and whispering hotly in his hear. 

“Fuck, you feel so good” The younger boy told him. And Mathieu would have returned the compliment if he was able to form coherent sentences at that moment, because the feel of their cocks sliding together as Olivier’s soapy hand went up and down was truly orgasmic. 

They came together a few minutes later, Mathieu biting lightly on Olivier’s shoulder to keep himself from moaning while the younger boy gripped his hair tighter. They stayed like that for a few seconds, time to go down from their high, before they let go of each other reluctantly… They did have to finish their shower, eventually. 

They ended up skipping breakfast and running to school, arriving out of breath and starving. This would be a great day, obviously… 

“Are you okay?” Laurent asked with a raised eyebrow, as Mathieu sat down next to him, arriving right on time. 

“Yeah… I… Overslept” he stammered in reply, hoping he wasn’t blushing because of this blatant lie. 

At around nine, Mathieu’s stomach starting growling, making Laurent look up questioningly. 

“Don’t look at me like that” Mathieu whispered, “I just really, really overslept, that’s all. Had to skip breakfast”. 

“Right” Laurent answered, and Mathieu couldn’t tell if he was being ironical or not… You could rarely tell with Laurent anyway. 

At lunch time, Mathieu was so hungry that he ate in about three minutes, starter and dessert included. Olivier didn’t take far longer than him, and Laurent was staring at him suspiciously. 

“You know you’re supposed to chew your food before you swallow it, right?” He asked. 

“Mmh, too hungry” Olivier replied between two bites. 

“Let me guess, you overslept and had to skip breakfast” Laurent said, more as an affirmation than as a question. 

“Yeah… how do you know?” The younger boy asked, a bit puzzled. 

“This one over here had the same problem” Laurent explained, gesturing to Mathieu. 

“Oh, yeah, I know…” Olivier replied, making Laurent look at him weirdly. 

“Well, we live together in case you didn’t remember… Plus we’re in the same room now because of the broken window… I told you about it the other day” the younger boy explained. It made sense didn’t it? 

“Yeah, right” Laurent replied, as he had in the morning when he was talking with Mathieu. 

Mathieu didn’t like that at all… It seemed that Laurent was starting to get suspicious about them, and this could only bring problems. 

Olivier received a phone call at that point and came back a few minutes later with a smile on his face. 

“What got you smiling like that?” Laurent asked. Damn, the guy was like the Spanish inquisition these days. 

“Oh… nothing…” Olivier replied. 

“Yeah, that’s it Giroud, as if we would believe that. Got yourself a girlfriend, didn’t you?” Morgan asked teasingly, and Mathieu wanted to hug him then and there. He had obviously done that to direct Laurent’s suspicion elsewhere, and that was such a nice thing to do. 

“No, honestly… It was just my mother telling me I can spend the weekend at hers next week” Olivier lied, not caring if his friends believed him, thanks to Morgan. 

Morgan helped them again during training by pairing with Mathieu, even though he would have liked pairing with Rémy, who had made it to the football team. Mathieu had wondered if changing stretching partners wouldn’t make Laurent even more suspicious, but Morgan had told him he was being too complicated and needed to relax. 

“And now, you’re the one who need to relax” Mathieu told him as he was glaring daggers at Olivier and Rémy while they were stretching. “You know it doesn’t mean anything… Olivier’s like that with everyone” Mathieu told him, referring to the fact that his boyfriend was currently engaged in a hug with Rémy. 

“Yeah… I know… but Rémy doesn’t” Morgan replied, still staring at them. 

“Oh come on, Rémy isn’t going to hit on Olivier” Mathieu assured, rolling his eyes. 

“Why not?” Morgan asked, not getting what would be so crazy about it. 

“Because he’s into you, you dickhead” Mathieu declared with a fond smile. 

“Nah… he isn’t” Morgan said, totally oblivious. 

“He is” Mathieu simply replied, sure of himself. 

“You think so?” Morgan finally asked. 

“I don’t think so, I know so” Mathieu assured. If Rémy wasn’t into Morgan, then Mathieu could as well be Queen Elisabeth II. 

“Okay… Maybe you’re right… I don’t know” Morgan admitted, still not convinced, but on his way to be. “Aren’t you jealous at all when he’s like that?” He then asked. 

“Well… I can’t say I’m not jealous at all… But at the same time his friendliness is part of who he is… And when you love someone, you love them wholly” Mathieu replied, and then, when Morgan stopped moving and just stared at him, he asked:

“What…?” 

“It’s cute” Morgan just replied. 

“Er… Thanks… I suppose” Mathieu said, rubbing his neck self-consciously. “And also… thank you for helping us out.”

“You’re welcome. But I’d appreciate it if you told your boyfriend to stop flirting with the guy who will hopefully become my boyfriend” Morgan requested. He knew Olivier wasn’t really flirting, but he couldn’t help but worry, even though Mathieu had assured him Rémy was into him. He wouldn’t be sure until things were official. 

“I will” Mathieu agreed. “By the way, do you plan on doing something anytime soon? For this guy to become your boyfriend, I mean” He asked. 

“I don’t know…” Morgan replied, feeling insecure. 

“I’m just saying… you probably should, because Rémy won’t be the one to do it… He just arrived here and all… you’re in a better position to take the first step” Mathieu pointed out. 

Morgan seemed deep in thoughts at that. 

“Yeah… You’re most probably right” he admitted, seemingly on edge. 

“Don’t be nervous. It will go fine” Mathieu assured him once again.

“But… what if he isn’t gay?” Morgan asked. 

“I’m pretty sure he is… considering how he looks at you… including in the locker room, by the way” Mathieu smiled. “Plus, it wasn’t a problem with me…” He pointed out. 

“Yeah, but it’s not the same… I was a bit drunk that once” Morgan replied. 

“Well, if it helped, just have a few drinks before asking him out” Mathieu joked. 

“You give great advice Mathieu. Thanks for your hindsight” Morgan said sarcastically, making Mathieu laugh. 

When Olivier and Mathieu were on their way home, Mathieu could finally ask what he had wanted to know all day: 

“So, what was that phone call really about?” 

Olivier smiled giddily but didn’t answer immediately. 

“Come on, tell me instead of smiling like a mad man” Mathieu requested impatiently. 

“It was my father… He told me that he had a surprise planned for your mother, for their two years anniversary… A weekend all by themselves on the Mediterranean coast” Olivier finally announced. 

“Seriously?!” Mathieu exclaimed a few seconds later. “It’s brilliant” he said with a bright smile as Olivier nodded. They would have the house to themselves for the whole weekend… Oh God.

“It is” Olivier agreed, putting his arm around Mathieu’s shoulders and kissing his cheek. 

Sometimes, Mathieu was thankful Olivier was overly tactile with about everyone he knew, or else they would have been busted in no time. 

“Oh… before I forget… I’m sorry to ruin the mood but Morgan asked me to tell you to stop flirting with his crush” Mathieu told him. 

“What? I wasn’t flirting with Rémy” Olivier protested. 

“Yeah, he knows, but he pointed out that Rémy doesn’t know… Apparently your attitude could be interpreted in the wrong way” Mathieu replied in a neutral tone. 

“Nonsense, Morgan has Rémy wrapped around his little finger” Olivier affirmed. 

“Yeah, I know. That’s basically what I told him… But you know how stupid we can get when we’re crushing on someone, right?” Mathieu asked rhetorically. 

“Indeed… Okay… I’ll try to be more distant” Olivier agreed. Then, a few seconds later, he asked: 

“Hey Mati… You don’t mind that I hug other people and stuff… right?” 

“Nah, don’t worry…” Mathieu assured him. Even if he did mind, Mathieu would just suck it up. He didn’t want Olivier to change because of him, he was just really friendly… it was no big deal, it was a positive trait even. It was the reason why Mathieu had started feeling comfortable around the younger boy so shortly after he had arrived in Montpellier after all. 

“Okay… Good… You’d tell me if it became a problem for you right?” Olivier asked.

“Yeah sure” Mathieu assured him. In all honesty, he probably wouldn’t, but he didn’t want to worry Olivier unnecessarily. 

As they were about to go inside the house, Mathieu told Olivier that he would join him in about ten minutes. He had to make a phone call. 

“Hey mate, how is it going?” Mathieu asked as Yohan answered the call. 

“Hey! It’s going great. What about you?” His best friend returned the question. 

“Brilliant… Samuel and Marie are away for the weekend…” Mathieu informed. 

“Oh… So… You guys are going to do it, aren’t you?” Yohan asked knowingly. 

“Yeah… I think so… Well, I hope so, at least” Mathieu answered. 

“Are you nervous?” His best friend questioned. 

“A bit yeah… I mean, it’s not like I’ve never done it before… But it’s not the same…” Mathieu replied. 

“Look who’s in love” Yohan said fondly. 

“Stop it Yo’” Mathieu requested, embarrassed. 

“Sorry, sorry… I’m happy for you man” Yohan told him. 

“Right… What about you and Fiona?” Mathieu asked, wanted to divert Yohan’s attention away from him. 

“Oh… well… it’s fine… we’re fine” Yohan stammered. 

“Just fine…?” Mathieu asked, puzzled. Weren’t they supposed to be walking on sunshine?

“Well… the thing is… I haven’t told her yet that I love her… and I think she might start getting a bit impatient soon” Yohan mumbled in reply. 

“Oh… And why didn’t you tell her yet?” Mathieu asked him, even though he knew perfectly well why: Yohan was too shy. 

“I… I don’t know… I just can’t” His best friend answered, sounding frustrated. 

“Of course you can! You love her, don’t you?” Mathieu asked.

“Yeah… Sure I do” Yohan replied. 

“Well then it’s easy, just be honest… Seriously, you’re supposed to be the relationships master out of the two of us, and now you can’t even tell your girlfriend that you’re in love with her” Mathieu ranted. 

“Hey… I never said I was a relationships master, you’re making these things up all on your own” Yohan protested. 

“Weren’t you the one saying Olivier and I were being stupid?” Mathieu asked.

“I never said such a thing” Yohan protested once again. 

“You didn’t use these words precisely, but the idea was there” Mathieu affirmed. “So, you tell me I’m stupid for not trying things out with Olivier, but now you’re being stupid yourself”

“I know” Yohan mumbled. 

Mathieu sighed, his tone softer as he reassured his best friend:

“Look Yo’, just tell her… I assure you it’s gonna go fine”

“I… I’ll try” Yohan replied. 

“Good… Keep me updated, alright?” Mathieu requested. 

“Sure… Bye Mathieu” 

“Bye Yo’, and good luck” He said before hanging up. 

The rest of the week ticked by very slowly, as Olivier and Mathieu were waiting for the weekend… their weekend all by themselves. 

Mathieu’s lessons ended at 6 o’clock in the afternoon on Fridays, whereas Olivier’s ended at four. Plus, Mathieu’s last lesson was maths, with his awful sadistic teacher. 

Olivier had planned a little surprise for his boyfriend. First of all, it would help him relax after his maths class, which was always a bit (or a lot) stressful, and secondly: Olivier had planned to tell Mathieu he loved him. As a result, he had prepared dinner… or he had tried to, really making an effort to cook something edible. He had even set a nice table, with candles. He hadn’t been far enough down the cheesy line to add rose petals, but he had to admit he had considered it for a second. 

However, something disturbed his seemingly flawless plan… Mathieu was still not home. They usually were back home at about thirty pas six, and Mathieu usually came back even sooner when he was alone, because he didn’t lose time walking slowly and talking with Olivier. But it was six thirty and he still wasn’t there. Olivier tried to calm down, telling himself that Mathieu being a few minutes late was probably nothing ant that his boyfriend was alright and would arrive shortly. Though, he decided to call him nonetheless… It would cost nothing. 

When his boyfriend didn’t answer, he started getting more worried. He waited five minutes and called again, still getting no answer. He was worried sick by now, wondering what he could do. He decided to call his friends, in case one of them was with Mathieu. He called each of them, calling Mathieu between each call to one of his friends. None of them had seen him, not even Laurent, who didn’t have mathematics with Mathieu on Fridays, as they didn’t have the same option. And Mathieu still hadn’t answered any of his calls. 

Desperate time called for desperate measures, so Olivier went as far as calling Mathieu’s mother: 

“Hey Marie… It’s Olivier… I was just wondering… can you give me Yohan’s phone number please?” He asked, trying to keep the worry away from his voice. 

“Hey, sure… But why aren’t you asking Mathieu?” Marie asked. 

“Well… you see… I wanted to talk to Yohan about what I can buy Mathieu for Christmas, and I don’t want him to suspect anything” Olivier replied. 

Marie bought it, fortunately, and gave him Yohan’s number. Olivier doubted it would be of any help anyway… but maybe Mathieu had told something to Yohan that Olivier didn’t know… He would take any information, anything… 

“Hey Yohan… It’s Olivier… I was wondering… did Mathieu call you recently or texted you or something…?” 

“No… We haven’t talked for a few days… Why?” Yohan asked. 

“He… He hasn’t come back home yet and I’m getting really worried… He should have arrived at least an hour ago” Olivier replied, fully panicking internally. 

“Shit… No… I really don’t know… he hasn’t told me anything about having something to do today or anything… I think he was particularly eager to come home today, because you guys have the house to yourselves” Yohan told Olivier, also getting worried. 

“I… I’ll go and look for him…” Olivier informed, “I’ll let you know when I found him” he then said. He hadn’t said “if I found him” because he didn’t even want to think about the possibility of not finding Mathieu. 

“Okay… I really hope you find him quickly” Yohan told him. 

“Me too” Olivier just replied before hanging up, leaving the house hurriedly and running in direction of their high-school. It was the last place where he was sure Mathieu had been, so he might as well start there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At first, this chapter had absolutely no suspense, but then I put a part of it in the next chapter instead and wrote the end in Olivier's point of view. . Because I apprently decided to be evil... I don't really know why ^^


	17. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! How is it going? :) 
> 
> I'm updating not too long after the previous chapter because I'm not that evil =P I hope you will enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for your support C=

Mathieu usually never used his phone during Mou’s lessons (he didn’t want to die), but this time… he had received a text from his mother. She never texted him during school time… this was weird, so he read it… just in case. 

From: Maman  
To: Mathieu  
“Hey honey, I know I shouldn’t text you while you’re in class… But I’m leaving for the weekend with Samuel and I really need to know where you put your traveling bag” 

Mathieu replied, really careful not to watch the screen and to look interested in what the teacher was saying as he did so. He thought he had succeeded when Mou turned to him and requested: 

“Debuchy… Your phone please” 

“But…” Mathieu started. 

“Don’t ever try to deny it. You looked too interested, it’s unusual coming from you” Mou assured, as sarcastic as ever. 

Mathieu sighed, defeated, before getting up and handing his phone to his teacher. 

At the end of the lesson, as Mathieu went to get his phone back from Mou, the teacher handed him a batch of documents and said: 

“These are exercises for you to do when you come to detention tomorrow morning” 

Mathieu’s face fell at that, and he tried: 

“No, sir, I really can’t tomorrow… I’ve got something really important to do… Can’t I come next Saturday or something… please?” 

“No, you can’t… You choose, either you do them tomorrow in detention or you do them right now, and you don’t leave until you’re finished” Mou proposed, being the sadistic bastard he was known to be. 

Mathieu deliberated silently for a few seconds. He knew that further arguing would lead nowhere. 

“Okay… I’ll do them now” Mathieu agreed reluctantly, going back to his seat in the now deserted classroom. 

The exercises were fucking undoable, which was predictable, and an hour and a half later, Mathieu was still there, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He couldn’t believe this guy preferred staying there with him all evening instead of going home just to make him miserable. Who the hell did something like that?

Plus, Olivier had to be worried sick by now… About half-an-hour after the bell had rung, Olivier had called him. Mathieu knew because Mou, who hadn’t give him his phone back yet (of course), had asked him to turn the mobile to silent-mode as the “incessant vibrations” were annoying him. But Olivier kept on calling. Mathieu could see the phone screen illuminating from where he was sitting. 

“Sir… can’t I just text my step-brother to tell him where I am…? He is probably worried” Mathieu asked, unable to stand it any longer. He should have come home about two hours ago by now…

“Isn’t it cute?” Mou asked rhetorically, expressionless. 

“Can I or not?” Mathieu asked again, ignoring his teacher’s reply. 

Mourinho didn’t have time to reply this time, as someone burst into the room… And this someone was none other than Olivier himself, seemingly worried sick. 

“Mathieu, what the fuck are you still doing here? I’ve been looking for you everywhere” 

“Well, I had extra homework to do… and it was either I do it now or in detention tomorrow…” Mathieu answered while looking at his teacher, who still had the same disinterested look. He didn’t even look surprised that Olivier had barged into the room.

“And what about a warning? That would have been nice” Olivier replied.

“I would have, but my phone got confiscated… I’m sorry Oli” Mathieu told him… It wasn’t entirely his fault technically… his teacher’s reaction had blown far out of proportions, but it was still partially his fault for using his phone… particularly in this lesson. 

“It’s okay… Come on, we’re going home” Olivier told him. 

“If you go now, you come in detention tomorrow” Mou interjected, addressing to Mathieu.

“But sir, I’ve been there for two hours and I haven’t finished the first exercise… I won’t stay four hours in detention” Mathieu protested. 

“You’ll stay for as long as needed” his teacher replied sourly. 

“No he won’t. You don’t have the right to keep pupils for so long after a class and you know it, so Mathieu will go home now, and he won’t have detention” Olivier told the teacher, clearly threatening him. 

“Ok, fine…” He answered after a few seconds deliberation, trying to sound indifferent but it was noticeable that he was fuming. “But you’ll do the exercises anyway. I’ll check on Monday” he said to Mathieu. 

“Ok. Goodbye sir” Mathieu said politely, even though all he wanted to say was ‘fuck you’. Fortunately, he still had his phone in his hand, so he didn’t have to ask it back to Mourinho… he wasn’t even sure he would have given it back anyway. 

Once they were out of the classroom and had closed the door behind them, Olivier pushed Mathieu against the nearest wall and kissed him passionately. Mathieu took a few seconds to recover from the surprise but ended up kissing back, wrapping his arms around Olivier’s shoulders and losing his hands in the younger boy’s hair. 

“I was so worried” Olivier breathed once they had separated, hugging Mathieu back. 

“I’m sorry” Mathieu apologised again. 

“It’s not your fault…” Olivier assured. 

“Come on, let’s go home” He then said, holding Mathieu’s hand as they walked away, taking advantage of the deserted hallway. He sent a collective text on the way, to let their friends know Mathieu was alright. 

When they finally got back home, there was a smell of burnt food permeating the house. 

“Fuck… Dinner!” Olivier exclaimed before rushing to the kitchen under Mathieu’s confused gaze. 

“Shit…” The younger boy cursed, turning the stove off. In his hurry to find his boyfriend, Olivier had forgotten the food was cooking. 

“What is it honey?” Mathieu asked, wondering why his boyfriend looked so abated. 

“I had cooked something for us tonight… or well, I tried to… And now the food’s burnt” Olivier explained, sounding disappointed. 

“Oh…” Mathieu replied. “I’m so sorry… I ruined everything.” 

“Of course not, it wasn’t your fault. Mou is a crazy bastard, everyone knows that” Olivier protested. 

“Maybe… but still, if I hadn’t used my phone in class...” Mathieu said, feeling guilty. 

“Don’t beat yourself up… I’m sure you had good reasons to… No one uses his phone in Mou’s class expect for something important” Olivier replied. 

“My mom was looking for my traveling bag, she needed it for the trip… I didn’t want anything to disturb her weekend… because it would have also meant disturbing our weekend… So I texted back” Mathieu explained. 

“It makes sense” Olivier agreed. He would have done anything to prevent their weekend to be ruined too. 

“Maybe… but now the food’s ruined… and you were worried… And I have God knows how many mathematics exercises to do for Monday… I totally ruined our weekend” Mathieu affirmed. 

Olivier sighed, hugging his boyfriend: 

“You didn’t ruin anything sweetheart… Okay, maybe we don’t have anything to eat anymore, but we can still order pizza or something… It will probably taste better than what I cooked anyway”

“Nah… I’m sure it would have tasted alright… It was really nice of you to try anyway” Mathieu told him. 

They went to the living-room afterwards, instead of just standing in the kitchen, staring pitifully at the burnt food. On the way, Mathieu noticed the nicely set table, with a white tablecloth and unlit candles.

“Fuck, Oli… I’m really sorry… You had planned the whole evening…” Mathieu said, gesturing to the obvious romantic dinner setting. 

“It’s fine… Really, it is” Olivier assured, putting his arms around Mathieu’s neck, one of his hand playing the hair at his nape. “It’s no big deal… I just wanted to do something nice… because I had planned on telling you something… Which I guess I might as well say now…” Olivier explained, pausing for a second before saying: “I love you Mathieu.” 

Mathieu’s heart started beating wildly as he heard what he had wanted to hear since Olivier had involuntarily confessed the feelings he had for him. 

“I love you too” Mathieu said back, kissing Olivier passionately.

Olivier kissed him back eagerly, moving his hands to Mathieu’s hips, pulling their bodies flush against each other. 

“You’re even wearing a dress shirt… You did things in style” Mathieu praised him, playing with the buttons of his shirt before going back to kissing him. He unbuttoned Olivier’s shirt slowly, kissing the newly uncovered expanse of skin as he went. 

Olivier’s breathing got heavier as his boyfriend’s lips went to his chest. 

“Okay… so we’ll eat later” Olivier remarked. 

“Mmh, indeed” Mathieu replied, taking Olivier’s hand in his and dragging him to his their shared room. He lost no time in waiting to kiss him again, his tongue quickly slipping past the younger boy’s lips and exploring his mouth. Not that he wasn’t used to kissing Olivier by now, but he would never tire of it. 

They started slowly undressing each other, their hands touching every inch of skin they could reach. First, Olivier took Mathieu’s T-shirt off, and the older boy finished unbuttoning his boyfriend’s shirt. Though, as Olivier was going to let it slide down, Mathieu held it in place and stood on his tiptoes to whisper in the younger boy’s ear: 

“Keep it on for a while longer… please” 

Olivier looked really hot with his shirt opened on his gorgeous torso, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. 

“I didn’t know you were kinky” Olivier smiled, teasing his boyfriend even though he was a bit aroused by the request. 

Mathieu smiled back with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Soon, Olivier wouldn’t be in the mood to tease him anymore: he sunk to his knees right in front of his boyfriend, who looked down at him in surprise at the unexpected move. Now that he had the upper hand… Mathieu was going to have a little fun.

He unzipped Olivier’s pants and slid them slowly down his long legs, sucking on the inside of his thigh, making him inhale sharply. Once the younger boy had stepped out of his pants, Mathieu went back to his ministrations, this time teasing his boyfriend by sucking on the skin right above the elastic of his boxer-shorts. Olivier managed to hold it together for less than thirty seconds, losing it when Mathieu started palming him through his underwear: 

“Please Mathieu… stop with the teasing” He begged.

“Impatient, aren’t we?” Mathieu asked with a teasing smile. 

“Yes… totally” Olivier answered without an ounce of shame. 

Mathieu went on with it after that: he got Olivier’s boxer-shorts out of the way and stroked his cock to full hardness, making the younger boy moan lowly as he finally got what he wanted. Mathieu then put his lips around the head of Olivier’s cock, running his tongue over the tip before going down slowly. 

Olivier gripped his hair with both his hands at that point, needing something to hold onto. After a few minutes of his boyfriend’s skilful mouth going up and down his cock, the younger boy knew he wouldn’t last long. 

“Ma-Mathieu” Olivier stammered. 

Mathieu looked up at him at that, and Olivier whimpered (which was a bit embarrassing, but he couldn’t help it) at the sight… He could come just by watching his boyfriend like that.

“You… You have to… to stop” he said. 

Mathieu stopped, letting go of Olivier’s cock but staying on his knees, staring at Olivier somewhat questioningly. 

Olivier pulled him up from the ground and kissed him. 

“This would have been over all too soon if you had kept that up” He told him. 

“I’m sure I could have gotten you hard again in no time” Mathieu whispered in reply. 

“That’s very… tempting” Olivier admitted in a hoarse voice, “but I want to take care of you too” he added, unbuttoning Mathieu’s pants. 

Mathieu bit his lip as he imagined what was to come. Olivier finished undressing him and led him toward the bed, making him lie down. He then finally took his shirt off before joining the smaller boy on the bed, hovering over him for a few seconds, motionless. 

“Olivier… what are you doing?” Mathieu asked, feeling a bit self-conscious under his boyfriend’s stare. 

“Enjoying the view” Olivier replied, still looking at him intently. 

Mathieu bit his lip again, threading his hand in Olivier’s hair. The younger boy kissed him briefly before moving his attention to his boyfriend’s chest. He placed his hand over Mathieu’s heart, feeling it beating wildly, before slowly gliding down until he reached his left nipple, rubbing his thumb over it teasingly. It didn’t help decrease Mathieu’s heartrate in any way. He couldn’t help but moan loudly as Olivier bit his other nipple lightly before running his tongue over the nub. 

This apparently was one of Olivier’s kinks, considering he always reserved special attention to this part of his body. Mathieu wouldn’t complain about that. His dick was rock-hard by now, and he really needed Olivier to do something about it. He grinded his hips, his cock rubbing against his boyfriend’s sculpted abs, getting the friction it desperately needed. However, Olivier had apparently decided to be cruel and held Mathieu’s hips in place, making him whine in protest. 

“Don’t worry… I’m getting to it” He assured him, sliding down Mathieu’s body until he was at the same level as his erection. He stroked it a few times before placing a kiss on the tip. He then went all the way down Mathieu’s cock without warning, making the older boy cry out in surprise, one of his hands going to the back of Olivier’s head as he draped his other arm over his face. 

Olivier wasn’t proud of what he had done with Morgan. But, at least, this “friends with benefits” thingy had the virtue of enabling him not to be totally awkward for his first time with Mathieu… He knew some tricks now… 

Soon after, Mathieu’s hand went to his bedside table to fetch a bottle a lube. 

“Oli…” He then called in a whisper, handing the bottle to him. The message couldn’t be clearer. 

Olivier stopped what he was doing and took the bottle with a slightly shaky hand. The thing was… Morgan and he had done stuff… but they had never gone all the way… He knew what to do, of course, but having the theory and actually doing the deed were two very different things. 

“Are you okay Oli?” Mathieu asked softly, as his boyfriend was staring at the bottle in his hand, not moving. 

“I… yeah… I know I don’t have the most stressful role out of the two of us… but I… I’m a bit nervous” Olivier admitted. 

Mathieu sat up at that and took Olivier’s free hand in both of his. “It’s okay to feel nervous, Oli… I’m a bit nervous too… but I know it’s gonna be alright, because I trust you”, he reassured him. 

“But… what if I do something wrong?” Olivier wondered out loud. 

“You won’t… And if you do I’ll let you know.” Mathieu assured, squeezing his hand. 

“O-okay… Sorry for ruining the mood” Olivier apologised.

“You didn’t” Mathieu simply replied, lying back down. 

Olivier poured some lube over his fingers, rubbing them together to warm the cold liquid. Now, there he was, kneeling between his boyfriend’s spread legs… Olivier bit his lower lip. 

He started jerking Mathieu off slowly, knowing it could make things more comfortable. After a few strokes, Mathieu’s mind was clouded with pleasure again, and he stammered: 

“Oli… Please… just go for it.” He needed him. 

When he finally felt a finger entering him tentatively, he breathed deeply and relaxed against the intrusion. It had been a while, so it was a bit uncomfortable at first, but nothing too bad. 

“Is this okay?” Olivier asked. 

“It’s… good.” Mathieu muttered. 

“You can add another” he said after a while. 

This time, he couldn’t help but moan at the stretch. 

“Does it hurt?” Olivier asked worriedly, stopping the movement of his fingers. 

“No… It’s fine…” Mathieu assured him. “Please, go on” He requested, squirming a bit. 

Olivier drove his fingers deeper inside him at that, hitting his boyfriend’s prostate as he started scissoring them, making him arch his back. 

“Fuck yes…” Mathieu moaned.

As Olivier added a third finger and hit his spot repeatedly, his other hand still focused on his cock, Mathieu could feel himself getting close already. 

“Stop, please… stop” He asked. 

Olivier stopped immediately and withdrew his fingers, making Mathieu whine at the loss. 

“I can almost hear you worrying… You didn’t hurt me, okay? I just want you inside me when I come” Mathieu told him, making Olivier curse under his breath. Hearing his boyfriend say that was beyond arousing for the younger boy.

“Where are the condoms?” Olivier asked, his eyes hazy with lust. 

Mathieu didn’t reply, taking the condom out of the drawer himself, unwrapping it and rolling it down his boyfriend’s shaft before spreading lube over it, making Olivier groan. 

Mathieu then lay down on his back and pulled Olivier to him, wrapping his arm around his neck and kissing him languidly. 

“Make love to me” he then whispered in his ear, making him shudder slightly. 

Olivier obeyed, lining up with Mathieu’s entrance before pushing in slowly, closing his eyes as his boyfriend’ tight ass enclosed his hard cock. 

Mathieu inhaled sharply, shutting his eyes and hugging Olivier tightly, his short nails digging into the flesh of his back as the taller boy entered him. Even though Olivier had prepared him cautiously, Mathieu needed a moment to get used to the stretch. Anyway, Olivier seemed to need a moment too, as he was hugging Mathieu back as tightly and had nuzzled into his neck, breathing his scent. 

The thing was, Olivier needed a moment to calm down, else he felt that he could come at any moment at the feeling. He had never felt anything like that, as if all his senses were surrounded by Mathieu... However, he soon felt the need to move, his body shaking from the restraint. 

“Go on… you can move” Mathieu assured him, still holding tightly onto him. 

Olivier withdrew until only the tip of his cock was still inside Mathieu before pushing back in, both boys moaning simultaneously at the feeling. He repeated the movement, creating a slow pace. He tried different angles until he found what he was looking for, drawing a loud moan from Mathieu. 

“Fuck yes… right there” he said, breathing heavily. 

Olivier started hitting his spot at every thrust, Mathieu gripping his hair tightly at the sensation. He also got back to jerking him off, hoping it would make the older boy come sooner, because there was no way he would last. He was overwhelmed by the plethora of different feelings assaulting him: the tightness around his cock, Mathieu’s arms around him, his hands in his hair, their bodies touching from head to toes, damp with sweat, so close that he could feel Mathieu’s every breath and his heart beating fast against his own chest. 

“Please, tell me you’re close” He pleaded after a while, breathing hard. 

“I am” Mathieu moaned in reply. 

“How close?” Olivier’s asked. He didn’t want to come before Mathieu, but he knew he couldn’t hold on for much longer. 

“Really close” Mathieu answered, kissing his boyfriend sloppily. 

Olivier started thrusting harder at that, keeping a slow pace but driving deeper into Mathieu. If the older boy’s groan was any indication, Olivier would say that he approved the change… Mathieu pulled Olivier’s hair involuntarily at one particularly hard thrust, which made his boyfriend hiss in pain.

“Shit… sorry” Mathieu apologised, massaging the back of Olivier’s head soothingly.

“It’s okay” Olivier reassured him, leaving an open-mouthed kiss in his neck. 

A few thrusts later, Olivier had to pause not to come, keeping still as he was fully sheathed inside Mathieu. 

The older boy wrapped his legs around his boyfriend’s hips, enjoying the closeness. Mathieu was certain nothing could ever feel this intimate. 

When Olivier started moving again, he jerked him off in time with his thrusts and aimed for his prostate, jabbing it hard until Mathieu was losing himself in pleasure. 

“I… I’m gonna come” he informed, his speech slightly slurred. 

“Yes, come for me Mati” Olivier encouraged, being one second away from coming himself. 

He wanted to hold on but he couldn’t anymore and let himself go, coming hard into the condom. However, their synchronisation was apparently perfect, because he felt his boyfriend’s member twitch in his hand, hot spurts of cum hitting his stomach. 

They were gripping each other tightly as they went down from their high, Olivier putting his face into Mathieu’s neck and inhaling his scent. 

“I love you” Mathieu whispered in his ear in between two laboured breathes, caressing his hair gently. 

“I love you too” Olivier said back, waiting a while longer before sliding out of Mathieu, who groaned slightly. 

Olivier discarded the condom and got back to bed, cuddling with Mathieu, none of them caring about the mess they had made. 

They stayed like that for hours before their growling stomachs gave them the motivation to get up, so they could take a shower and order pizza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's the first time I wrote that much smut, and I kinda struggled with it a little bit ^^ I hope you liked it... Let me know what you thought...? (pretty please with a cherry on top =P).
> 
> PS: I'm sorry I made Mou such a bastard... But well, I needed a mean teacher, and he's far from being my favorite coach (understatement of the year xD).


	18. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support, as always, you guys rock :D
> 
> About the chapter, when Mathieu says "a S friend" he means a friend from the scientific section. And Montpellier HSC is the name of Montpellier football club (it stands for Montpellier Hérault Sport Club). 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy the chapter ;)

Mathieu and Olivier made the best of the rest of their weekend, even though the former had to spend time on his fucking mathematics homework… Far too much time (even five minutes would have been too much, to be honest, and it had been far longer than that). Plus, it was hard to concentrate with Olivier around. 

At some point, Mathieu was working (or trying to), when Olivier silently approached his desk and put his arms around Mathieu, hugging him from behind. 

“So, how is it going?” Olivier asked, kissing the back of his boyfriend’s head. 

Mathieu sighed before answering: “well… it’s kind of ‘not’ going… that’s the problem”. He had been stuck for what felt like hours. 

Olivier stopped hugging him at that and straightened up, putting his hands on Mathieu’s upper back. 

“You should have a break, you seem stressed out” he told Mathieu as he started massaging his back, progressively adding more pressure. 

Mathieu sighed again, contentedly this time, enjoying the feel of his boyfriend’s hands. However, his conscience soon caught up on him and he replied: 

“I can’t… I’ll never finish this if I do” 

“Of course you will” Olivier assured him softly, still working on his sore muscles. 

This wasn’t fair… Mathieu was sure this was some kind of hypnosis method the younger boy had been secretly working on. He couldn’t resist… 

“Okay then, just five minutes” He agreed reluctantly. 

“Of course” Olivier agreed, even though he had no plan of submitting to this rule. “Come on… you should lie down and really relax… Else it won’t be a real break” 

“Okay… fine” Mathieu agreed, giving less and less signs of resistance as time passed. 

Olivier led him to his bed and told him: 

“Take your shirt off and lay down on your stomach” 

Mathieu looked at him questioningly at the request, seemingly hesitant to do as he was told. 

“Come on, trust me” Olivier urged him. 

After Mathieu had finally laid down, Olivier took the bottle of lube from the drawer and poured a generous amount of its content in his hand. He would have preferred massage lotion, but they didn’t have that here… He would have to think about buying some in the future… 

He then rubbed his hands together to spread and warm the liquid before he went back to massaging Mathieu. Only, this time, it was done in style. 

The older boy tensed briefly before relaxing under his boyfriend’s touch. 

“Mmh, what did I do to deserve that?” he asked. 

“You don’t have to do anything in particular you know… being yourself is quite enough for me to do nice things for you” Olivier replied with a fond smile that Mathieu couldn’t see, feeling the older boy tense slightly. He still didn’t know how to take a compliment… he probably never would but Olivier wouldn’t stop trying to get him used to it. 

“Thank you” Mathieu mumbled. 

“You’re welcome” Olivier replied, “now relax” he requested, applying pressure on his lower back. 

This time, Mathieu did as he was told without protesting, and five minutes turned into ten, then fifteen, and so on. He knew he should ask Olivier to stop so he could get back to his homework… but it felt so good, and he was so tired. 

As he felt Mathieu start breathing evenly, Olivier understood he had fallen asleep and smiled, satisfied. He then lied down next to his boyfriend and nuzzled into him, trying at the same time not to wake him up. 

In the end, Mathieu had to call Hugo to ask for help, else he wouldn’t finish his exercises and Mou would kill him… Or give him detention every Saturday until the end of the year (which would be even worth). 

As they were in bed on Saturday night, Mathieu told Olivier: 

“The window reparation will be over soon… I’m gonna miss this” 

Olivier smiled at him enigmatically before replying: 

“About that… I might have a plan…”

“Is it the same kind of plans as last time?” Mathieu asked in reference to Olivier breaking his bedroom’s window, cringing at the thought.

“No, of course not” Olivier rolled his eyes. 

“Okay, fine, I’m listening” Mathieu replied.

Once Olivier was done explaining his plan to Mathieu, they started putting it into action immediately, even though it was past midnight already (Olivier was really persuasive and he was so enthusiastic that it had rubbed off on Mathieu). Moving furniture in the middle of the night wasn’t something Mathieu had imagined ever doing but well… Thankfully, this would work out and they would be able to keep sleeping in the same room. 

On the next day, they enjoyed the last moments of their alone time. Mathieu had awoken before Olivier and had something in mind to surprise his boyfriend. 

Once Olivier was awake, they started kissing and Mathieu slid a hand under the sheets, going for the taller boy’s morning erection. 

“Should I take care of that?” He asked mischievously, stroking it lightly. 

“That’d be great” Olivier whispered, not trusting his voice. 

Mathieu smiled at him, took a condom from the drawer and rolled it down Olivier’s cock, getting a confused stare from him. A strange mix of shock and bliss replaced confusion when Mathieu straddled his hips and sank down his cock, both of them moaning simultaneously. 

“Fuck…” Olivier cursed, closing his eyes for a second, to recover from the surprise. 

“I awoke before you did this morning… so I took matters into my own hands… I hope you don’t mind” Mathieu asked teasingly, rubbing his thumb on Olivier’s left nipple, making him bite back a moan. 

“Not at all” Olivier replied in a hoarse voice, opening his eyes again to take in the glorious sight of his boyfriend on top of him. Just the idea of Mathieu preparing himself with the prospect of riding Olivier’s cock made the younger boy moan. 

Mathieu smiled at him and started moving, which made Olivier grip his hips tightly. The younger boy bucked his hips up, getting deeper into his boyfriend and hitting his spot, making him arch his back. 

Olivier sat up at that, pulling Mathieu to him so he could crash their lips together in a passionate kiss, wrapping his arms around his waist, getting as close to him as possible. The position wasn’t the most practical, but it felt great, even though they ended up sweaty, breathing hard and exhausted. 

“This was the best morning ever, though now I kinda feel like sleeping for the whole day” Olivier admitted as they were lying down afterwards, unable to make the lightest movement. They might need a few minutes to get the control of their body back. 

“Me too” Mathieu agreed. “Sadly, we can’t do that...” They had to clean up before Samuel and Marie came back, or else their relationship wouldn’t stay secret for too long… Their room was a bit messy. 

“I know…” Olivier sighed overdramatically. “So… shower?” 

“Yeah… In a minute” Mathieu agreed. 

“Or two…” Olivier added. 

In fact, two minutes ended up being twenty minutes before they finally went to the bathroom and took a shower. 

Then, they cleaned their room, getting rid of everything that could look suspicious, putting the sheets in the washing machine, etcetera. 

“They should be back any minutes now” Mathieu said, as they sat down on the couch after lunch, switching the TV on to watch whatever football match they could find. Mathieu’s team had already played the day before, and Olivier’s would only play in the evening, but well, watching a random match was still better than nothing. 

“Yeah… I hope the plan will work out” Olivier replied. 

“We can only wait and see… There’s nothing more we can do now” Mathieu declared, taking Olivier’s hand in his. 

Their parents arrived at half-time. Mathieu, hearing the car parking in front of the house, immediately let go of Olivier’s hand. 

“Hey boys!” Marie greeted them as she came in, Samuel right behind her. “Watching football again I see… Do you ever do any homework?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“Yeah… Don’t ask me about it…” Mathieu replied miserably. 

“Oh… Let me guess, that maths teacher of yours did something again?” She asked. 

“He gave me enough exercises to last a year, but it’s fine… A friend from S helped me” Mathieu informed. 

“That’s really nice of him” Marie remarked. 

“So, how was your weekend?” Olivier asked, which led to Marie telling them everything about how great the weekend was, with Samuel looking at her lovingly. Damn, they were nauseatingly sweet. 

When she told them about the hotel and the room, Olivier thought it was the right time to carry on with the second part of their plan.

“Oh, while we’re talking about rooms… Mathieu and I moved the TV and the PlayStation from my room to Mathieu’s… We’re thinking about leaving his bed in my room and using his current room for when we want to watch TV or play video games… Like that our friends won’t have to go into our bedroom when they visit” Olivier explained to their parents. 

“Oh… Yeah, it’s actually a good idea… I had never thought about it but it mustn’t have been practical to have the PlayStation in your room. Especially when Yohan visited” Samuel replied. “But, won’t it be annoying to share the same bedroom?” 

“Nah, it’s quite spacious, and we get along very well so it won’t be a problem” Olivier replied. “We have to find a couch or something, though… Because for now the only thing there is in the guestroom is the TV and the games” Olivier informed. 

“Right… You can take the couch which is in my office if you want… I barely ever use it” Samuel told him. 

“Really? That’s great, thanks” Olivier replied. 

He had definitely bought it… That was great. 

“But, wouldn’t it be nice to put a sofa bed… Like that, if a friend of them sleeps here, we can just change the couch into a bed… It would be more practical” Marie proposed. 

“Yeah, that’s true… Well, why don’t you boys go to Ikea next week? I’m sure you’ll find something like that in no time” Samuel proposed. 

Mathieu and Olivier agreed wholeheartedly, of course. 

“I can’t believe it worked that well” Mathieu said as they were in bed together, that night. 

“Of course it worked, the plan was flawless” Olivier replied, feigning to be offended. 

“Sure… Sure it was… I’m really glad you came up with it” Mathieu told him honestly. 

“I’m really glad too” Olivier replied with a smile before he kissed his boyfriend.

Now, the Christmas holidays were approaching, and Mathieu had planned to spend them at Yohan’s, as he hadn’t been able to travel to Lille for the Toussaint holidays. 

“Are you still coming for the holidays?” Yohan asked one day, as they were talking on the phone. 

“Yeah sure… Why wouldn’t I?” Mathieu asked. 

“Well… ‘cause you’re finally with Olivier now… you probably want to spend time with him…” Yohan replied. 

“Yeah… I do, but I do spend time with him… I go to school with him, I play football with him, I live with him. On the other hand, I haven’t seen you in weeks” Mathieu told him. 

“Ok. Great then” Yohan said, and Mathieu could hear the smile in his voice. 

“Apart from that… Have you finally told your dear girlfriend that you love her?” Mathieu then asked. 

“Mh… well… Not yet” Yohan replied awkwardly. 

“No way… do you plan on doing it any time soon?” his best friend asked. 

“Yeah… maybe… I don’t know… You’re stressing me out, it sounds like you’re scolding me” Yohan answered. 

Mathieu rolled his eyes, even though his friend couldn’t see. 

“No, I’m not scolding you… I just think you should tell her, that’s all… I don’t know what’s holding you back.” 

“My stupid shyness” Yohan replied dejectedly. 

Mathieu sighed, softening. 

“It’s not stupid… I’m sure she finds it cute even…” 

“Maybe at first… But it’ll get annoying anytime soon” Yohan answered. 

“Look… I’m sure you can do it okay? What was that you were telling me the other day? I think it was somewhere along the line of ‘have a little faith in yourself” Mathieu declared. 

“Yeah… I don’t know” Yohan replied. 

“Don’t worry, I assure you that you will tell her during the holidays. I won’t go back to Montpellier until you will have said it” Mathieu assured. 

“I… Okay” Yohan agreed reluctantly, “whatever”. 

“No, not whatever. This is gonna be brilliant” Mathieu told him. 

“Right… Right. Thanks man” Yohan laughed. 

“You’re welcome…” Mathieu replied. 

“Bye mate” 

“See you” He said before hanging up. 

“You know… It may sounds stupid, but I’m gonna miss you” Olivier said after Mathieu had hung up. 

“Oh… No, it’s not stupid. I’m going to miss you too” Mathieu assured before kissing him softly. 

“I love you” Olivier smiled. 

“I love you too” Mathieu replied, smiling back with a slight blush colouring his cheeks. 

After the last training session before the holidays, Morgan came to Olivier for advice. He didn’t reckon it would be that helpful, but he felt stuck and needed some help. 

“Hey Oli…”

“Hey… What’s up?” Olivier asked with raised eyebrows, noticing that Morgan looked preoccupied. 

“I… I just need your opinion on something…” Morgan admitted, albeit a bit reluctantly. He didn’t like admitting he needed help. 

“I’m listening” Olivier informed, waiting expectantly for Morgan to just get it over with. 

“I was thinking of getting a Christmas gift to Rémy…” He started. “Something meaningful, you know… For him to understand that I… Well, you know…”

“Yeah, that you want him to be your boyfriend” Olivier replied with a teasing smile. Awkward Morgan was cute, to be honest. 

“Yeah… That” the other boy nodded. 

“And so? I think it’s really nice… But if you’re asking me because you don’t know what to get him, I can’t really help you…” Olivier told him. Morgan had to be spending twice as much time as he did with Rémy, so he was in a far better position to determine what their new friend might like. 

“Yea, I know… I already have an idea… I just wanted someone else’s opinion on it… To be sure my idea’s not totally shitty or anything” Morgan informed. 

“Oh, okay. No problem then, just spit it out” Olivier said with a chuckle. 

“Okay… So… I was thinking about getting him a ticket for the first Montpellier home game of next year… Like that he’d actually understand than I’m asking him out on a date… I suppose” Morgan explained. 

“Yeah, this is actually a really nice idea. And anyway, if he doesn’t understand on his own, you’ll just have to explain it to him” Olivier pointed out, making sure that Morgan would get his date with Rémy. Because his friend deserved to be happy. 

“Sure, sure” Morgan agreed, even though he wasn’t as confident as he wanted Olivier to believe he was. “What about you? Do you know what you are going to get Mathieu?” 

Olivier sighed at that… He had been looking for the perfect idea for ages, but nothing he had come up with sounded like THE gift. 

“Nah… I still haven’t found the perfect gift” He complained. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find something. Mathieu will probably be happy with anything you get him anyway” Morgan said, trying to reassure his friend. 

“Yeah… probably… But I really want to get him something special” Olivier replied, to what Morgan smiled sympathetically. He totally understood Olivier’s point.

“Who would have known you would be such a romantic boyfriend?” Morgan asked teasingly. 

“Shut up” Olivier replied, sticking his tongue out. 

“No, really. This is truly endearing” His friend joked again.

Their banter was interrupted by Mathieu, who was dressed and ready to go.

“What were you guys talking about?” Mathieu asked as they were walking back home. 

“Morgan was just telling me about the gift he would get Rémy” Olivier replied. 

“And so? What will he get him?” Mathieu asked, not wanting Olivier to leave him hanging like that. 

“A ticket to a Montpellier HSC match.... It’s a message of some sort… To make him understand he’d like to date him” Olivier told him. 

“Oh, that’s nice! You can never go wrong with football related gifts when it comes to football fans anyway” Mathieu assured. 

“Yeah…” Olivier replied, a tad absent-mindedly, while all he could think internally was “YES, now I actually have the beginning of an idea!”

As they entered the house and went to the living-room, where Samuel and Marie were watching TV, the latter brightened up and said: 

“Oh, boys, I was waiting for you… We have something to tell you.” 

“What is it?” Mathieu asked, a tad worried. The last time she had something to announce, he had nearly had a heart-attack. 

“We’re thinking of all going to Lille for the holidays instead of just letting you go alone… Like that we can spend Christmas together, as a family should” Marie explained, sounding like she was already trying to justify her choice, as if she thought Mathieu would protest. 

“Oh… Yeah, okay, fine” Mathieu agreed. He didn’t really know what to think about it… It would be nice not to travel alone, he supposed. Plus, he would get to be with Olivier, and also to see Yohan. He hadn’t really had the time to think about everything it was implying, but for now he could only find advantages. 

“Now, Olivier… If you want to stay here for the holidays, you can… But I’d like it if you come, because as Marie said, Christmas should be spent with family” Samuel told his son. 

“It’s not a problem, I’ll be happy to come with you” He said, trying to sound neutral, as if he had nothing against the idea, but wasn’t ecstatic about it (which he totally was). 

“Okay, it’s settled then.” Marie summarised with a smile. “I already called my sister, she said she’d be happy to have us… Though you’ll probably stay at Yohan’s anyway” Her son probably wanted to see his best friend as much as possible. And anyway, her sister’s house wasn’t big enough for the four of them. 

“Yeah, I’ll probably do that, we’ve already arranged things, Yo’ and I” Mathieu replied. Now, he was actually thinking about Olivier having to sleep at his aunt’s place. She was really nice of course, it wasn’t the problem… the thing was that she had three children, and they could get a bit overwhelming sometimes. Mathieu was wondering if he should warn Olivier about it or if he should just let him see for himself. 

Anyhow, these holidays would probably be eventful, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda don't like this chapter... at all... But I wanted to update now because I have a week of exam coming up so I won't be able to update again before next this weekend. I hope it wasn't too lame :/


	19. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the late update. I had my exams, and then I had other things to do, I started learning Italian ^^, and I struggled a bit with the chapter (once again :/).

“Hey mate!” Mathieu said as Yohan answered his phone call. 

“Hey… what’s up?” His best friend asked. 

“I just wanted to let you know, about the Christmas holidays…” Mathieu started, before he was interrupted by a worried Yohan. 

“You’re still coming, aren’t you?” 

“Of course I am!” Mathieu answered hastily. “I just wanted to tell you that my mother is going to stay in Lille too, at my aunt’s, with Olivier and his father”.

“Oh… Okay… Good.” Yohan replied. “Isn’t your aunt’s house a bit small for her, her husband, their three children, your mother, her boyfriend and his son?” He wondered. 

“Well… It’ll be a close fit, I suppose, but well… they should do fine” Mathieu replied. 

“Are you sure? Because… if you want, I can make room for Olivier too… I can just leave my bedroom for you guys and stay with my brother” Yohan told him. 

“I wouldn’t want to disturb” Mathieu answered. The proposition was very tempting, but he didn’t want to be a burden. 

“Nonsense, you wouldn’t. You know my mom loves having guests, and there’s enough room. Plus, my brother is always happy to have people over once they love football and are willing to play with us.” Yohan assured. “You’re willing to play with us, aren’t you?” He asked, almost rhetorically. 

“We’d love to” Mathieu replied with a smile. “Thank you man, really”.

“Don’t mention it” Yohan replied, also smiling. “See you on Monday.”

“Yeah, see you” Mathieu replied before hanging up. 

Olivier was looking at him questioningly, wondering why his boyfriend was smiling so much. He had only gotten half of the conversation, of course, so he was quite confused. 

“What is it?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yohan just told me you could sleep at his house and he even proposed to give us his room” Mathieu answered. 

“Really?!” Olivier asked, his eyes shining with hope. 

“Yes, really” Mathieu nodded with a chuckle. 

“Wow, that’s fucking nice of him” Olivier said in wonder. 

“Yeah, I know, I have the best friend in the world” Mathieu assured. 

Later in the day, he told his mom that Olivier would also stay at Yohan’s. She tried to protest, as she didn’t want Yohan’s parents to be burdened, but Mathieu finally convinced her that it was arranged. 

“You should get them something for Christmas, then, to thank them for welcoming you” Marie advised. 

“Yeah sure, we could go now” Olivier told Mathieu. 

“On the last Saturday before Christmas… Are you serious?” Mathieu stared at him as if he had grown a second head. 

“Well, yeah…” Olivier answered, shrugging his shoulders, as if he wasn’t asking Mathieu to go shopping on one of the busiest days of the year. 

“If we have to…” Mathieu replied, resigned. He would have far preferred to go some other time, but there weren’t that many days left before the 25th, and they could already rule out Sunday, Monday because it was the day of the trip and the 24th because it was even worse than the last Saturday. So, in fact, they had no more choice. 

“Ok, when should we go?” Olivier asked.

“Right now… Let’s get this over with” Mathieu answered, getting up from the couch. 

As they were walking to the town centre, Olivier sighed and declared: 

“This is so annoying…” 

“What?” Mathieu asked, confused. 

“Every time we walk together like that, or that we are watching TV or something, I want to hold your hand and kiss you and stuff… but I know I can’t do that”.

Mathieu bit his bottom lip, looking sadly at Olivier. He wanted to do all these things, too, but as the younger boy had said, they couldn’t do that. 

“I know it’s hard, love… but what can we possibly do about it?”

“Well, we’ll have to come out one day, you know” Olivier told him. He didn’t know where he would be in ten years, but he really hoped that it would be with Mathieu, wherever it would be. The older boy couldn’t possibly hide their relationship from Marie and Samuel if it got that serious (and Olivier really hoped it would). 

“But… what will people think? Our parents are getting married Oli…” Mathieu replied. 

“I know, but it’s not that bad… we’ve known each other for less than a year… we haven’t been raised together or anything. It’s not incest, I don’t know why it bothers you so much” Olivier said, passing his hand into his hair.

“I… I don’t know” Mathieu replied, feeling nervous. He hated conflicts of any sort, and he could clearly see this could easily become an issue. He knew Olivier was right… he should come out to his mother, and they should tell both Marie and Samuel that they were together… But Mathieu couldn’t find the courage to. 

“Look, forget I said anything… I shouldn’t have brought that up… I really don’t want to pressure you” Olivier said, but he still seemed upset about it. “So, what should we get Yohan’s parents?” the younger boy asked to divert Mathieu’s attention from what they had been talking about. However, it only worked partially, as Mathieu kept the matter they had discussed in mind the whole evening. 

“What is it Mathieu?” Olivier finally asked as they were in their room, preparing to go to bed. 

“Mmh?”

“What is it? You seem preoccupied” Olivier repeated. 

“Oh… No… It’s nothing” Mathieu said with a dismissive hand gesture. 

“No, it’s not nothing Mathieu, I can see that you’re upset” Olivier told him. “Come on, talk to me”

“It’s just… You were right… I should finally come out, and I shouldn’t care that much about what people will think about it… I just can’t bring myself to do it” Mathieu admitted. 

“Hey… I shouldn’t have said that, I told you… Don’t think about it” Olivier requested. 

“Too late…” Mathieu replied. He couldn’t just forget what Olivier had said. 

Olivier sighed, not knowing what to do to make his boyfriend feel better. 

“Look Mati’… It’s fine alright? We’ve got all the time in the world… Worrying over everything won’t make the situation evolve…” Olivier told him.

“I know… I just can’t help myself” Mathieu mumbled in reply, looking everywhere but at Olivier. 

The taller boy sat down next to him and wrapped his arm around his shoulders. 

“I can try to make you think about something else” Olivier propose in a husky tone, kissing Mathieu’s cheek and then gliding down to his neck. 

“Olivier, what are you doing?” Mathieu asked, inhaling sharply. 

“What does it look like?” He whispered before pushing Mathieu down until he was lying on the bed. He then climbed on top of him and kissed him passionately. 

Mathieu kissed back, even though he knew he shouldn’t have. 

“Olivier… we can’t” he whispered. 

“We can… we just have to keep silent… It’s the middle of the night… no one will notice” Olivier replied, coaxing Mathieu into giving up protesting. 

“I… I…” Mathieu stammered, trying to come up with something, but he just couldn’t think anymore once Olivier started leaving open-mouthed kisses in his neck. So he just thread his hand into his boyfriend’s hair and lost himself in the sensation, not thinking about anything else for once. 

Mathieu ended up trying to muffle his moans with his pillow, but the blow job he got was damn worth the effort. Olivier had effectively made him forget about his troubles, at least for a moment. 

As they were lying in bed that night, Mathieu broke the silence: 

“We’ll have to pretend we didn’t get each other anything for Christmas” 

“What for?” Olivier asked. 

“Well… I’ve gotten you something that… let’s say it will be pretty obvious that we’re together to anyone who sees what I’ve gotten you” Mathieu admitted. 

“Oh… Okay then. No problem” Olivier assured him, now very intrigued. 

“Good…” Mathieu replied. “’Night Oli” 

“Good night Mati” Olivier said back, kissing the top of his boyfriend’s head, which was resting on his chest. 

They didn’t do much on Sunday expect watching English football. Mathieu was too excited to be doing anything anyway. He was really eager to see his best friend on the next day. 

On Monday, they got on the road very early in the morning, as the drive to Lille would take them the whole day. At some point, Mathieu got sleepy. They had been driving for hours and he was bored out of his mind. He wanted Olivier’s shoulder to sleep on, but a seat was separating them, and their parents being in the car meant that they couldn’t do anything of that sort. So, he ended up falling asleep against the car window, which wasn’t the most comfortable thing… at all. It was alright though, because he would be able to sleep with Olivier every night, thanks to Yohan. 

When they finally arrived at Mathieu’s aunt, Olivier and he came in with their parents to meet the family. 

The twins instantly ran to Mathieu, who kneeled down and hugged them both. 

“Hey guys! I hope you’ve been nice to your parents since I moved away” He told them. 

“Yeah, really nice.” Jules assured. 

“The nicest.” Corentin added. 

“Right” Mathieu replied, not sure he could believe them. They could be little devils sometimes, but he had missed his cousins dearly. 

Then, Mathieu’s aunt arrived with Emilie, the youngest child of the family. The little girl immediately extended her arms toward Mathieu, asking to be picked up. 

“Hey sweetie” Mathieu said as he took her in his arms. “I missed you very, very much” he told her, hugging his cousin. 

“And you didn’t miss us?” Corentin asked, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout. 

“Of course I missed you too boys” Mathieu replied with a roll of his eyes. 

With all the children around him, Mathieu didn’t notice Olivier watching them fondly from the other side of the room. 

They really made an endearing sight. 

Once the presentations had been made, Mathieu and Olivier went to Yohan’s, which was the occasion for Olivier to discover Lille’s subway. Mathieu had took it all his life, so it was a part of his world… kind of. 

“That’s too bad that we’re in the Ligue 1 winter break… I would have loved for us to go see a LOSC match” Mathieu declared as they took the tube, reminded of it because the stadium was the line’s terminus. 

Then, they had to change lines.

“Yohan lives in Tourcoing, it’s not really Lille, you know, but it’s really close so it’s alright.” Mathieu informed. 

Olivier looked at the plan and nodded. Indeed, Tourcoing didn’t look far away from their station. 

They arrived really soon, and Mathieu was pretty excited of course, making Olivier chuckle. 

“Calm down love, you look like a five-year old who’s eaten too much sugar”. 

Mathieu stuck his tongue out, going further into his portraying of a five-year old and getting Olivier to roll his eyes with an amused smile. 

“I’m just really happy” Mathieu admitted. 

“I know, it’s kind of hard not to notice” Olivier replied, ruffling Mathieu’s hair. 

The older boy swatted his hand away and tried to rearrange his hair, which was probably a total fail but whatever. 

When Mathieu rang the doorbell, the door opened almost immediately, as if Yohan had been waiting behind it (which was probably the case), and he soon had his arms full of his best friend. 

Mathieu hugged him back tightly before they had to let go. They couldn’t keep hugging at the door all day. They would have, for sure, but this wasn’t socially acceptable. 

Then, Yohan shook Olivier’s hand with his trademark smile and invited them in. 

“My parents are still at work but they should be there anytime soon.” He informed, before going at the bottom of the stairs and yelling. 

“Geoffrey, they’re here, get your ass downstairs”

His little brother yelled back that he’d be there in a few seconds and, indeed, he soon got down the stairs.

They decided to go play football for a while, before Yohan and Geoffrey’s parents came back. So, Olivier and Mathieu left their bags in Yohan’s room and then they all went out. 

“Hey guys, there’s a party tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to go?” Yohan asked. 

“It depends, who’s organizing it?” Mathieu questioned. 

“Rio.” Yohan replied. 

“Ok, fine then” Mathieu agreed with a smile. Rio was a great lad. “Will Flo be there?” 

“Yeah, sure, Kiki and Adil too” Yohan answered. 

“Yeah, I didn’t even consider asking about them” Mathieu laughed. He was practically sure these two would be there. You couldn’t have a real party without them. 

“Is Rio his real name?” Olivier wondered out loud.

“Yeah” Mathieu and Yohan answered at the same time. 

“Oh… Alright.” Olivier replied. He preferred asking, if he met the guy and called him by his nickname, he’d probably find it weird. 

They played for a while and had great fun, even though Mathieu complained because he couldn’t tackle, as they hadn’t taken the time to change into football clothes. He would do without staining one of his favourite pairs of jeans, thank you very much. 

When they got back, Yohan and Geoffrey’s parents were back from work so Mathieu got a hug from Yohan’s mother and a friendly handshake from his father. Then, she fawned over Olivier, pointing out how tall he was. 

“Thanks for reminding us we’re all dwarfs mom” Yohan joked. 

“Nah, you’re still growing up, don’t worry” His mother replied, making him roll his eyes. Okay, maybe they’d get a few centimetres taller, but he was 99 percent sure none of them would never reach Olivier’s size. Let’s be realistic. 

“So, are you boys going to this party you told me about?” She then asked. 

“Yeah, we’ll go… We probably won’t stay too long” Yohan replied. 

“Good…” His mother answered. She was happy to see Yohan go out and have fun for once. He had had a rough time after Mathieu had moved away. 

Once they were on their way to the party (after Olivier had spent twenty minutes on his hair, of course), Mathieu asked Yohan: 

“So… will Fiona be there?” 

Yohan cleared his throat, feeling a bit nervous, and replied: 

“Yeah… she will be” 

“Good, so now you can finally tell her you’re madly in love with her” Mathieu affirmed, making his best friend blush. 

“Mathieu!” He protested, glancing at Olivier. 

“Don’t look at me like that” Olivier said, “I won’t make fun of you or anything” he assured defensively. 

Yohan still looked a bit embarrassed but he let it go, saying:

“I don’t see why I’d be able to tell her now if I haven’t been before… nothing has changed”. 

“Something’s changed: I’m here now, and I won’t let you be until you’ve told her” Mathieu replied. 

“That’s not fair” Yohan mumbled. 

“You’ll thank me later” Mathieu assured right before he knocked on Rio’s door. 

Their friend opened the door a few seconds later and smiled brightly as he saw Mathieu. 

“Hey man! Good to see you” He said, hugging his friend briefly. “And you must be Olivier” he said, extended his hand to the taller boy. 

“Yeah, nice to meet you” Olivier said, shaking the guy’s hand and getting a smile in return. 

Rio then urged them in and left them to mingle among the guests. 

Fiona was already there and came to Yohan, kissing him on the lips, before greeting Mathieu and Olivier. 

“It’s nice to see you Mathieu” She said, “Yohan misses you a lot you know” She said, making Yohan blush once again. They had apparently all decided to embarrass him. 

“I miss him a lot too” Mathieu replied, ignoring his best friend’s embarrassment. “However, I think I’m going to go and see if I can find Kiki and Flo, and all the others… ‘Cause I think Yohan’s got something to tell you”. 

As Mathieu walked away with Olivier, he could see Yohan mouth “I hate you”, and all he did was smile in reply. This was mean of him, but this needed to be done. 

Mathieu could see many of the girls ogling Olivier without an ounce of subtlety… but he couldn’t really blame them. His boyfriend was fucking hot, and they couldn’t know he was taken so… 

He found Kiki and Adil first… because, quite frankly, they were hard to miss. Both of them went to Mathieu and hugged the hell out of him. 

“Wow, they’re… dynamic” Olivier said once both the guys had gone back to dancing like crazies. 

“Yeah… indeed” Mathieu chuckled. “Come on, let’s go looking for drinks” He said, dragging Olivier with him to the kitchen. 

They came back to the living-room a few minutes later, with a beer in hand, and sat down on one of the couch. 

“Are we opening the Christmas gifts on the 24th or on the 25th?” Olivier asked. 

“Mmh, I don’t know… We usually do it on the 25th in the morning, but whichever is fine by me” Mathieu replied. “Why are you asking?” 

“Oh… Just like that” Olivier replied, blatantly lying. In fact, he was really impatient to give his gift to Mathieu and to see what the older boy had gotten him. 

After a while, Olivier looked longingly at the dancefloor and asked Mathieu: 

“Would you dance with me?” 

Mathieu looked at him in surprise and stammered: 

“I… I would have loved to but… people would get suspicious”

“But, your friend… Adil is it? Has been dancing with guys since we’re here” Olivier pointed out. 

“Yeah… but Adil has always been the funny one of the group you know… He always does that kind of things and no one takes it seriously… If I did it, though, people would find that weird…” 

Olivier sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and replied: 

“Fine then” 

Mathieu sighed too, bothered by his boyfriend’s reaction. 

“I’m sorry Oli…” 

“I told you, it’s fine” Olivier said, trying to soften his tone. 

Mathieu had started to believe that it was, indeed, fine… But then, he saw a catastrophe bound to happen. 

“Shit”, he muttered under his breath. 

“Hey, Mathieu, honey, I’m glad to see you!” 

“Hey Sarah…” He greeted, trying not to sound nervous but failing miserably. 

Instantly noticing that something was wrong in his boyfriend’s tone, Olivier started staring at the scene which was taking place. 

“So, how’s Montpellier?” The girl asked.

“It’s nice… The weather’s far better” Mathieu replied. That’s it, keeping the conversation dull and superficial. Good plan, don’t fall into a trap, he told himself. 

“Yeah, I bet… You didn’t tan much though” She said, sitting next to him on the couch. Some things never changed: she still couldn’t tell when she was not welcome. 

“Yeah… I could never tan easily” Mathieu answered. 

“I remember yes… when we were still together, you would always get sunburns but you’d never tan” She said. 

And BIM, she had placed the fact they had been together in the conversation. Well done. 

Olivier was now looking at Mathieu with a raised eyebrow, though he was still not saying anything. 

“Oh, Mathieu, you didn’t present me your friend” She pointed out. 

“Er… Sure. This is Olivier… My step-brother… Olivier, this is Sarh…” Mathieu said. 

She said hi with an annoyingly charming voice and kissed Olivier’s cheeks, leaning over Mathieu as she did so, as he was still sitting in between Sarah and Olivier. He was sure she was doing it on purpose. She had placed her hand on his thigh for fuck’s sake. Who would do that without noticing? 

Olivier had also noticed apparently, if the look he was giving Mathieu was any indication. 

Mathieu wanted to tell Sarah he had a girlfriend or something, so she would leave them alone, but this would raise questions (and this kind of lies always ended up being discovered), and he couldn’t possibly tell her the truth about Olivier and him… so he was stuck with her, which was totally not how he was expecting he would spend the night. 

At some point, another girl Mathieu didn’t know came to them and asked Olivier for a dance. The younger boy looked at Mathieu, to whom Sarah was still stuck as a mollusc would be to a rock. He frowned before turning back to the girl: 

“Yeah, with pleasure” he replied, getting up from the couch and following her to the improvised dancefloor. 

He wasn’t really in the mood to dance (understatement of the year), but he just wanted to get back at Mathieu for not doing anything to push that girl away, even though she was obviously hitting on him… and was his ex-girlfriend, in addition. 

He would glance at them every few seconds from where he was dancing, each time seeing the same thing, that is to say Sarah hitting on his boyfriend, making his blood boil. However, the worst was yet to come: at some point, he looked in their direction, right on time to see their lips crashing together… And then it felt as if time had stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just thought I'd let you know, when I say Sarah kisses Olivier's cheeks, I'm referring to "faire la bise"... I don't really know if it is also a habit in other countries (maybe in Europe but I think I read that it's not done in the USA). But in France, girls and boys do "la bise" all the time, even if we don't know the person. If we meet someone and that this person is a girl, we do "la bise"... Only boys with other boys don't do "la bise" if they don't know each other. At work too, with their boss, I guess most people wouldn't do it. But teenagers at a party would definitely do "la bise" to someone they meet, even if they don't know them. Also, the number of kisses on each cheek (well it's not really a kiss, more like a cheek on cheek contact) depends of where you live, which I find kind of funny ^^ where I live it's one on each cheek, there are place where it's two on each cheek. In Belgium, you just do one 'bise' if you don't know the person and three if you know them. And I just ranted about the bise, which maybe no one cares about but whatever xD


	20. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your support :D I hope you'll like this chapter ;)

Olivier could only watch, frozen in place, as Sarah kissed his boyfriend, his jaw dropping from shock. 

“Are you okay?” His dance partner asked. 

Olivier snapped out of his torpor, turning to her. 

“No… not really… I think I need a break… sorry” He excused himself before going outside. He needed some fresh air, and more importantly he needed to go as far away from Mathieu and Sarah as he possibly could. 

Meanwhile, Mathieu had pushed Sarah away brusquely, yelling: 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He knew she had no boundaries, but he didn’t think she would go for a kiss just like that, with no warning or anything. 

“Well I…” 

“No, you know what? I don’t care, I don’t wanna hear about it!” Mathieu interrupted her. 

“Why are you so mad? You’ve got a girlfriend or something?” She asked. 

“You’re fucking unbelievable! You don’t just kiss someone like that, girlfriend or not!” Mathieu replied angrily before storming out. He needed some fresh air. 

He really hoped no one had seen what had just happened, particularly Olivier. However, he quickly understood it wasn’t the case when he arrived outside and saw Olivier with his arms crossed over his chest, staring into space with a frown on his face. 

The younger boy looked up as he heard Mathieu’s steps, only to turn his gaze away immediately upon seeing who had joined him, his frown deepening. Okay, so he was mad… Mathieu could totally understand that. He would be furious too… 

What should he do? Try to explain or leave Olivier alone for the moment? After a small hesitation, he decided to at least try making things better: 

“Oli… I” He started, but he was instantly interrupted by Olivier: 

“Save it Mathieu” he snapped coldly. 

Okay, this was really bad. 

Mathieu sighed, not knowing what to do… If Olivier didn’t want to talk, all he could do was wait, give the younger boy some time and hope he would hear him out later. So, he went back inside dejectedly.

Yohan came to him with a huge smile on his face which contrasted strongly with Mathieu’s current mood. However, he pretended to be okay not to ruin his best friend’s obvious happiness. 

“Hey mate, what’s up?” He asked with a forced smile. 

“I finally told her!” Yohan answered enthusiastically. 

“So, I reckon it went fine” Mathieu replied. 

“Yeah… It went great. She was really happy I told her and she said she loved me too” Yohan answered with a dreamy look. 

“I’m happy for you man” Mathieu assured, trying to just stop thinking about how tense and angry Olivier had looked when they were outside. 

“Thanks, I’m happy too” Yohan assured, as if it weren’t obvious to anyone who’d simply take a look at him. “Where’s Olive?” He then asked. 

Mathieu flinched at that, even though he tried to stay indifferent, and answered: “Outside…”

Of course, Yohan noticed his best friend’s strange reaction and asked: 

“What’s wrong Mathieu?” 

“I… nothing” The slightly older boy replied. 

“Don’t lie to me, I know you” Yohan told him. 

“I… Sarah came to us sooner and… She kinda started hitting on me and Olivier noticed so he left to dance with some girl… And all of a sudden Sarah kissed me, out of nowhere… I had hoped Olivier hadn’t seen anything… but he has of course, and now he’s mad at me…” Mathieu explained.

Yohan bit his lip and replied: “Oh…” 

“If I had known she’d be there, I would have at least told Olivier about her before we came here” Mathieu said. 

“I… It’s my fault… I knew she’d be there and I didn’t tell you… I didn’t think she’d do something that extreme” Yohan told him, sounding guilty. 

Mathieu would have been mad about it if he wasn’t feeling so downcast, so he just replied:

“You should have told me, yes… But still, it’s all my fault… I should have pushed her away immediately when I noticed she was hitting on me… But once again I was too much of a coward to admit I have a boyfriend” Mathieu affirmed, looking down in shame. 

“Hey… don’t beat yourself up” Yohan tried, putting his arm around his best friend’s shoulder. “It’s Sarah’s fault anyway, I don’t think we need another culprit here” he assured. 

“Yeah… It doesn’t change anything though… Olivier’s still mad at me…” Mathieu replied. 

“I’m sure you guys will be fine once you’ve talked things out” Yohan said, trying to reassure him. 

Mathieu answered nothing. For them to talk things out, Olivier would have to actually accept talking to him. 

“Do you want to go home?” Yohan asked, looking concerned. 

“I… I’d like to yeah… But if you want to stay it’s fine… I can wait...” Mathieu replied. 

“No, we’ll go now, don’t worry” Yohan assured him. 

They didn’t have to look for Olivier, as the younger boy was still sulking outside. He followed them wordlessly as they left the party, walking home with them in a tense atmosphere. 

Mathieu would have liked giving his boyfriend (because he was still his boyfriend… right?) some space, but they were sharing a room… so, unfortunately, it was bound to be awkward. Therefore, he just tried to be as discreet as possible, not saying anything, not staying too close to Olivier. However, he couldn’t avoid facing him anymore when they finally went to bed. 

Mathieu nervously passed a hand in his hair and tentatively lay down beside Olivier, as far as he possibly could without falling off the bed. The younger boy stayed immobile, just staring at the ceiling without acknowledging Mathieu’s presence. 

Mathieu stared at him, debating on what he should do, but Olivier decided for him as he turned away from him, now facing the wall. Okay… so Mathieu wouldn’t be doing anything. 

However, they really had to talk… Mathieu wanted to clear a few things as soon as possible… He should probably wait for the next day, but he couldn’t take it… He was afraid of what would happen between them… What if Olivier broke up with him? Well, okay, talking right now wouldn’t change anything if Olivier was really planning to end things between them… But at least Mathieu would know. The uncertainty was killing him. 

“Olivier…” Mathieu started. 

“I don’t want to talk about it…” Olivier cut him short, still facing the wall. 

Mathieu sighed and started fiddling with the bed sheets. 

“Okay… But can you at least listen to what I have to say…?” Mathieu asked in a pleading tone. Then, he added for good measure: “Please” as Olivier wasn’t answering. 

It was the younger boy’s turn to sigh as he turned toward Mathieu and replied coldly:

“Fine… Go on then” 

Mathieu threw a glance at him, before going back to staring blankly at the comforter, still fiddling. His nervousness was obvious. 

“I… Well I want you to know that Sarah kissed me without warning… and I rejected her immediately” He started, “I know that it doesn’t excuse what happened… but just know that I really didn’t want any of it to happen… and I’m really sorry that it did”. 

“If you didn’t want anything to happen, you should have rejected her at the second you noticed she was hitting on you” Olivier said, and he didn’t let Mathieu reply, adding: “and don’t you dare tell me you hadn’t noticed… She had her hand on your thigh for fuck’s sake… And let’s not forget that she’s your ex…”

“I know… I screwed up… I’m really, really sorry…” Mathieu replied. At least Olivier was talking to him… though it was to blame him, so he couldn’t decide if it was a good thing or not… they were communicating, it had to be better than just ignoring each other. 

“You’re sorry? Have you told this girl off?” Olivier asked expectantly. 

“Yes, of course I did!” Mathieu assured. 

“What did you tell her?” 

“Well, I asked her what the fuck she was doing… and then she had the nerve to ask me why I was so mad, she assumed it was because I had a girlfriend” Mathieu answered. 

“Oh… And what did you reply?” Olivier wondered. 

“Well… I told her I didn’t need a girlfriend to be mad at her for what she had done… she had no right” Mathieu told him truthfully. 

“So you didn’t tell her you had a boyfriend” Olivier affirmed. 

“Well… no” Mathieu replied sheepishly. 

“I should have seen that coming” Olivier said, turning away from Mathieu once again. The conversation was over. 

Mathieu bit his bottom lip worriedly. He wasn’t reassured at all and he felt even guiltier than before they had this discussion. He had gotten what Olivier was insinuating… He thought that Mathieu should have told Sarah he had a boyfriend for her not to hit on him… or he should have at least told her about it afterwards to make up for not having done it sooner… And Mathieu knew he was right. Him being in the closet had never been that much of a problem in their relationship before, but now it was starting to cause problems, and it was unacceptable. 

“I’m really sorry Oli” Mathieu whispered. 

Olivier sighed and stayed silent for a few seconds before replying:

“I know you are” 

They didn’t say anything else after that, and Mathieu couldn’t find sleep. He tried to just stop thinking about it, because he knew this would not help, but to no avail. 

On the following morning, things were still tense, even though it was slightly better than it had been the day before. 

“You haven’t slept at all, have you?” Olivier asked with a sigh, standing right in front of Mathieu.

“No…” The older boy replied honestly. 

“This isn’t fair” Olivier complained somewhat softly, bringing his hand to Mathieu’s cheek, making his breath hitch. 

“What isn’t?” He asked, confused. 

“I’m feeling guilty because you haven’t slept… But I’m not supposed to… I’m supposed to be mad at you…” Olivier explained, sounding frustrated. 

“I’m sorry” Mathieu apologised, looking down sadly. 

“Rah… Stop apologising, you’re making it even worse” Olivier complained again. 

“Sorry” Mathieu said as a reflex, understanding too late he had apologised once again. 

Olivier rolled his eyes. He wanted to stay mad at Mathieu, but he couldn’t help but smile. It was too hard not to talk to him, cuddle with him and all the rest. It had been less than a day and he was already fed up with it. And it was breaking his heart to see Mathieu feeling so dejected.

“Come here” He finally said, opening his arms wide so Mathieu could come and hug him. The older boy looked up, his eyes full of hope, and tentatively got closer. 

However, Olivier must have thought he was too slow because he ended up pulling him to his chest and hugging him tight. Mathieu hugged back just as tightly and then completely stopped moving, afraid that everything would crumble at the slightest movement. 

“I’m still mad at you” Olivier told him. Not mad enough to stay away from him, but deep down he was still really disappointed Mathieu had done nothing to keep Sarah away from him. Olivier was not asking his boyfriend to come out to his mother right that instant or anything… if he needed time, then so be it. But this girl wasn’t even close to him at all, so Mathieu could have at least told him he had someone. 

“O-okay” Mathieu replied in a broken voice before going back to enjoying Olivier’s embrace while he still could, inhaling his boyfriend’s scent. “I love you” He whispered absentmindedly, not really realising he was saying it out loud. 

Olivier sighed, leaning his head on top of Mathieu’s head, before replying: 

“I love you too”. He didn’t really want to say it back, considering their current situation, but this would just be cruel not too, and he didn’t think he would have been able too anyway. 

At that moment, the door opened unexpectedly. Mathieu separated himself from Olivier hurriedly, but he wasn’t quick enough if Yohan’s mother expression was any indication. 

“I… I’m sorry…” She mumbled confusedly before closing the door and going back to where she was coming from. 

“Fuck” Mathieu cursed, hiding his face in his hands. Yohan’s mother had seen them hugging in the middle of the bedroom, half-naked… She most probably had put two and two together. 

“Right… I’ll just go and take a shower” Olivier coldly informed, going away without waiting for a reply. 

“Oli… wait” Mathieu tried, understanding how badly Olivier must have had taken his reaction, but it was too late: the younger boy was already gone. “Fuck” he cursed once again… He couldn’t believe he had screwed up a second time so soon after the first. 

While Olivier was taking his shower, Mathieu thought about what he could say to make things better. Once the younger boy came back into the room, he told him: 

“I know it’s starting to get a bit old… But I’m really sorry. I… I’m awful…”

“No, you’re not” Olivier sighed. “I’m a bit at fault here too… I told you that you could take as much time as you want to come out, that I don’t want to pressure you… But here I am, reacting badly every time you hide our relationship to someone… I can’t help it… It’s just because it makes me feel… it makes me feel like you’re ashamed of what we have”.

“Of course not, Oli… Don’t ever think that…” Mathieu requested, before explaining: “you’re perfect to me, and I love you… I could never be ashamed of our relationship… I just… I’m afraid of how my mother’s going to react… You know she’s the only close family I have… I never met my father, and I have no sibling… Every time I think about telling her, I can’t help but wonder ‘what if she never wanted to talk to me again’, ‘what if she threw me out’, then I would have no family left”. 

Olivier framed his boyfriend’s face in his hands and made him look into his eyes: 

“Look Mathieu… I really don’t think your mother will react that badly… Maybe she will need some time to get used to the idea, but she loves you… she’ll get over it eventually” He said, trying to reassure his boyfriend. “I’m not trying to influence you or anything… But the more you wait to tell her the worse it will get… You’re not going to tell her once we’ve already moved in together, or gotten married or something, will you?” 

Mathieu froze at that and stared at Olivier intently. 

The younger boy was confused by his boyfriend’s reaction but suddenly realised what he had just said. 

“I… I’m sorry… Forget I said anything… Please” Olivier requested. Talking about marriage and stuff with your lover was probably not the best thing to do at their age, even more considering they had never talked about it before (which meant Olivier had no idea about Mathieu’s views on all of that). 

“You really think what you said? You really see us living together and getting married in the future?” Mathieu asked, ignoring Olivier’s request. 

“I… well yeah… I do… But I’m sorry I dropped this on you… This is a bit too soon to talk about-“ Olivier replied, but he was interrupted by Mathieu’s lips on his. 

“Don’t worry over it…” Mathieu whispered softly to him, hugging him tight. He wanted the same things but he wouldn’t have dared bringing it up. “You’re right… I can’t wait too long before telling my mom… she will be shocked and disappointed if I tell her only once we’ve been together for a long time.” He then admitted. 

Olivier passed his hand up and down his back comfortingly before replying: 

“Everything will be fine you’ll see” 

“We can’t know that for sure” Mathieu protested.

“Okay… We can’t, but I really think it will go fine… and maybe it won’t help but if it goes badly, know that I’ll be there for you… I’ll be there no matter what happens.” Olivier assured him. 

“It does help… It helps a lot” Mathieu replied, nuzzling into his boyfriend’s neck “thank you”. 

“You’re welcome love” Olivier told him. 

“This was the mushiest conversation of my whole life” Mathieu said, laughing slightly. 

“I’m proud to be the one you’ve had it with” Olivier replied with a bright smile. 

“I’m glad you were” Mathieu told him, before they got downstairs to get breakfast. 

They ate with Yohan and his brother, and at some point, Yohan and Geoffrey’s mother went to them and apologised: 

“I’m sorry about this morning boys, I didn’t think you were still in the room, else I would have knocked.” 

“It… It’s fine really” Mathieu replied, clearing his throat nervously. 

“You make a cute couple” She said with a small smile. 

Mathieu considered denying it, but she would probably not believe him, and he didn’t want to further disappoint Olivier. The younger boy had told him to take all the time he needed, but Mathieu knew it would make him sad… even more after what had happened the day before. So instead of denying anything, he answered politely: 

“Thank you”, and he felt Olivier’s hand squeezing his under the table, the younger boy smiling at him. 

Mathieu smiled back at his boyfriend. He felt lighter now that someone else knew about Olivier and him being together, even though he was also a bit worried. What if Yohan’s mother talked to Mathieu’s mother about it without knowing Mathieu hadn’t told her yet?

Though, later in the day, Yohan could see that Mathieu was worried, so he told him:

“I told my mother that your mother doesn’t know yet about you being gay… ‘Cause, you know, she asked me about you guys this morning, after what she had stumbled upon.”

Mathieu looked at his best friend in surprise. 

“Really? You’re the best!” Mathieu declared, hugging his best friend. 

“I know, I know” Yohan replied with a teasing smile. 

Now, all Mathieu had to do was tell his mother the truth… Yeah, easier said than done.


	21. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm more than one week late... and I don't even have a valuable excuse, except for the fact that I struggled with writing the chapter. I'm really sorry :S   
> Shoot out to those of you who are still reading and thank you for all the support :D The story is nearly over and I'm really glad (because you bear with me and also because I'll finally finish a multi-chapter story, which only happened to me once before, when I was still writing on fanfiction.net ^^). 
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter ;)

Mathieu and Olivier would be spending Christmas at Mathieu’s aunt’s, but before they left Yohan’s house, they didn’t forget to give his parents the gift they had gotten to thank them for their hospitality. 

“Oh boys, you shouldn’t have” Yohan’s mother told them, but if her smile was any indication, she was really touched by the attention. 

“Nonsense, we were happy to” Olivier replied with a smile of his own, as charming as ever. 

Then, they wished everyone a merry Christmas and left. Before that, Olivier had had to get Mathieu’s gift from Yohan, who had bought it for him. It had been quite hard to do it discreetly as Mathieu was spending all his time with Yohan and Olivier, but they had waited for him to go take a shower in the morning to do it. 

“Thanks for your help man” Olivier had told him. 

“You’re very welcome” Yohan had replied, glad as he was to be of help, as he knew his best friend would love Olivier’s present. 

 

“Where do you think we’ll be sleeping tonight?” Olivier asked Mathieu as they were on the way to his aunt’s. 

“I don’t really know… There’s no more rooms left… I just hope we’ll be together…” The older boy replied. 

“Yeah, me too… I don’t think I’d be able to sleep without you” Olivier admitted. Now that they were sleeping together every night, it would probably be difficult to sleep on their own. 

“I don’t think so either” Mathieu replied. Plus, it would suck even more to be separated from Olivier as it would be Christmas’s night. 

As they came into the house, the twins came running to them and launched themselves at Mathieu once again. They hadn’t dared approach Olivier yet, but Mathieu was pretty sure it would come soon. 

Their little sister toddled after them, clutching her favourite fluffy toy to her chest and sucking her thumb. Surprisingly, she stopped and stared at Olivier, apparently intrigued. She then walked to him and tugged on the fabric of his jeans, maybe to catch his attention or something, which was quite unnecessary as Olivier had already been looking at her. He crouched down to be at her level, as she was barely reaching his knee, and waited for her reaction. She started playing with the cross Olivier was wearing on a chain around his neck and he awkwardly stayed immobile, not saying anything. When she unexpectedly hugged him, he thought it was safe to carry her in arms to go the living-room, where her parents probably were. 

When he looked up, he noticed Mathieu was looking at him… or well, at them, looking quite surprised. 

“What is it?” Olivier asked, a bit alarmed. 

“Oh… nothing… It’s just that she usually isn’t that outgoing with strangers.” Mathieu told him. 

“Oh… well, maybe it’s because she associates me with you or something, so I’m not a total stranger” Olivier replied. “Or maybe she’s already understood that I am ace” he joked. 

“Don’t be full of yourself now” Mathieu laughed. “Come on, let’s go” he then said, leading the way to the living-room. 

“Hey guys… Oh, look at that, you’ve made a new friend here Emilie?” Mathieu’s aunt asked her daughter with a smile. The little girl just ignored her mother and hid her face in Olivier’s T-shirt. 

“Boys, we moved Emilie’s crib in her brothers’ bedroom so you can take her room tonight… We have no more beds though so I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the floor” She then explained.

“Oh no, don’t worry, it’s fine.” Mathieu replied. 

“Sure, it’s all good. Thank you” Olivier said. 

They weren’t showing it but they were ecstatic to be able to sleep in the same room, even if it was on the hardwood floor. Plus, they would have some intimacy to give each other their Christmas gifts, which they had planned not to open in front of the others. Olivier was eager to see Mathieu’s reaction to his gift… He was pretty sure that he would like it, Mathieu himself had said that one couldn’t mess up with a football related gift. And he was also intrigued about what Mathieu had gotten him. The older boy, on the other hand, was pretty nervous about Olivier’s reaction to his gift… He just hoped he wouldn’t find it cheesy or anything. 

“We’re gonna put our things upstairs” Mathieu informed. They had taken a few things for the night: toothbrushes, a change of clothes, etcetera. 

“Alright, you know the way” his aunt replied with a smile.

Olivier had to put Emilie back down (which was proving to be more difficult than what he had expected as she apparently wasn’t fond of the idea) before following Mathieu up the stairs. 

“So, it all went fine” Olivier said enthusiastically as they reached Emilie’s room. 

“Yeah, I prefer sleeping on the floor with you than in a bed without you” Mathieu told him. 

“Me too” Olivier assured, kissing his boyfriend on the lips. 

Mathieu kissed back for a while, but he had to pull back, even though he didn’t want to at all:

“We have to go back downstairs…” He said, trying to sound convincing but failing miserably. 

“Mmh” Olivier replied absentmindedly, going back to kissing him. 

“Oli…” Mathieu complained half-heartedly. 

“Yeah… I know, I know… sorry, I just can’t help it” Olivier sighed. 

Mathieu smiled at his admission, kissing his cheek before dragging him out of the room and down the stairs. 

“So, boys, you had fun at Yohan’s?” Marie asked as they both sat down on the floor in the living-room (the couch being fully occupied already), Emilie going to Olivier once again. She definitely liked him, apparently. 

“Yeah, sure” Mathieu answered laconically. It wasn’t like him to just go into a detailed report of what they had done anyway, her mother knew that. 

“And what about that party you went to?” She then asked. Mathieu always told her when he wasn’t spending the night where he had first been supposed to. Of course, she wouldn’t have known anyway, as they were at Yohan’s when they went to the party, but mothers were resourceful, so he preferred clearing the path and telling her before she discovered it in another way and got unnecessarily suspicious.

Mathieu felt uncomfortable answering that question, considering what had happened that night, but he hoped it wasn’t too obvious, else his mother’s would start questioning him, and he couldn’t possibly admit everything in front of everyone. 

“It was okay…” 

“Okay?”

“Well yeah… I’m not a big fan of parties, but I saw the guys, so it was cool” He said, totally ignoring the Sarah part of the night. 

“Good then, what about you Olivier, met some interesting people?” She asked the younger boy. 

“Sure… Mathieu’s friends are really nice…” He answered, getting Mathieu to look up at him apologetically. Olivier just smiled at him so he would understand everything was fine. 

“That they are” Marie agreed. Then after a slight pause, she got up and said: 

“Come on Samuel, we should go”

“Go where?” Mathieu asked, puzzled, where could you possibly go a few hours before Christmas’ Eve dinner?

“We’re going shopping” Marie told him. 

“On the 24th? In the afternoon? Are you crazy?” Mathieu asked his mother. It was probably the last day of the year he would do shopping on. 

“You’re being overdramatic” Marie replied. 

“I don’t think so no…” Mathieu assured, and if Samuel’s distressed expression was any indication, he agreed wholeheartedly. Only Marie didn’t seem to know what she was getting herself into… or maybe she knew and didn’t care… Mathieu would never understand this. 

“Whatever… Good luck” he said, looking at Samuel. 

“Thanks” Olivier’s father answered, almost flinching at the thought of what was awaiting. 

Then, Mathieu’s aunt and uncle left the living-room in order to go and prepare everything for dinner, which left Mathieu and Olivier alone to entertain the kids. And God knew they needed to entertain them, especially the twins, if they didn’t want them to talk their ears off. Children tended to get overexcited about Christmas… And adults too, sometimes. 

It all went fine. Emilie already loved Olivier, by the look of it, and the twins, even though they were wary at first, soon warmed up to Mathieu’s boyfriend, too. 

When Marie and Samuel came back, Mathieu and Olivier were watching a silly Christmas movie with the twins and Emilie. Marie smiled at the endearing scene before asking to the children: 

“Where are your parents?”

“They went for a walk” Jules answered disinterestedly, eyes still fixed on the TV screen. 

“Oh, okay then” Marie answered, “what are you watching?”

“I don’t really know…” was Mathieu’s reply. “But I do know it’s not very interesting”

“I think it’s nice” Corentin protested. 

“Right, sure it is, kiddo” Olivier agreed, ruffling the little boy’s hair, and Mathieu couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not. He kind of hoped he wasn’t. That movie was lame… really damn lame. 

After that, it was time for dinner soon enough. During dinner, though, the time ticked by excruciatingly slowly. It wasn’t that the conversations were boring or anything, and really Mathieu’s family was fucking damn nice, but both boys were eagerly waiting to be alone in their room and exchange their Christmas gifts. 

Once everyone finally decided to call it a night, Olivier and Mathieu were finally able to hurry up the stairs (all the while trying to hide that they were in a hurry).

“I thought this would never end” Mathieu declared as he closed the door to Emilie’s room behind him. 

“It was quite nice…” Olivier replied. 

“Oh come on, don’t pretend you didn’t spend hours fidgeting on your chair wondering when you’d finally get your gift” Mathieu protested with a teasing smile. 

“Ok, ok, you got me” Olivier admitted, “now, while we’re talking about gifts” he said, starting to rummage through his bag, looking for the wrapped present he had packed in the morning. 

“Ah, here it is!” He exclaimed triumphantly as his hand came out of the bag, holding the precious Christmas gift. 

Mathieu searched his own bag for Olivier’s present and quickly found it (he had been careful to place it somewhere he’d have easy access to. As the gift was quite small it could have turned out difficult to find had he not paid attention). 

They quite awkwardly exchanged the wrapped items, trying not to let anything fall in the process. Then, they smiled a bit embarrassingly before Olivier said: 

“You’re first”, and it didn’t sound up for discussion. 

“Okay…” Mathieu agreed, tearing the wrapping paper quite hesitantly. Some people would make sure to keep the wrapping paper in one piece while opening gifts, but Mathieu knew it was pretty much a lost cause. 

He already knew it had to be a piece of clothing by the feel of it, but when he saw what piece of clothing it actually was, he couldn’t help but be speechless for several long seconds, not moving, just staring at the jersey with wide eyes. 

Olivier was starting to get quite nervous at his boyfriend’s reaction… or lack-there-of maybe. 

“Don’t you like it? I just thought, since you said football gifts were a good idea…” He asked, fidgeting a bit. 

Then Mathieu suddenly engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug. 

“Thank you” He just said. He hadn’t gotten a new LOSC jersey in years, and his old one was starting to get seriously ragged. It was perfect. 

“You freaked me out for a second” Olivier told him, sighing from relief. 

“I’m sorry… I was just a bit overwhelmed… It’s the best gift ever, honestly” Mathieu assured him.

“I’m really glad you like it… By the way, you’ll have to thank Yohan too, because he got it for me” Olivier told him. He had thought it would be more convenient for Yohan to buy it directly at the LOSC shop than to order on the internet.

“Will do” Mathieu agreed with a smile, letting go of his boyfriend and going back to the inspection of his new jersey. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t already taken a look at it in stores a hundred times, but now it was his and he just felt like putting it on and wearing it forever. 

Suddenly, though, a thought occurred to him and his face fell. 

“What is it?” Olivier asked with concern, noticing the obvious change in his boyfriend’s mood. 

“Nothing… It’s just that… now I wish you had opened your gift first…” Mathieu mumbled. Football jerseys were fucking expensive, and that was why he had spent years watching the various LOSC jerseys in shops’ windows without ever buying one. The gift he had gotten Olivier, being something he could afford, was automatically far less pricey. 

“Nonsense, I’m sure I’ll love it” Olivier assured him. This gift was from Mathieu, and nothing else mattered to him. 

“Right… It’s just… it feels lame in comparison to your gift” Mathieu told him.

“Look Mathieu… Money doesn’t matter alright? I have money because my father has money, so I bought you this gift because I can afford it and I knew you’d like it. I don’t give a damn about the fact you got me a gift witch is less costly. You can’t afford something that expensive, and so what? It’s about sentimental value, not money” Olivier assured him, “I’ll love your gift no matter what, because you’re the one who picked it, and you did it for me. That’s all I’m asking for”. 

Mathieu had looked up at Olivier at some point during his motivational speech and he couldn’t help but smile at his boyfriend. 

“I love you Oli”

“I love you too”

“Good, now open this damn gift” Mathieu asked, because he was one second away from just taking the thing back and throwing it into the fire… He would maybe have done it already if it weren’t for the fact that there was no fire on… there was no fireplace either anyway so…

Olivier opened the gift slowly, and really, Mathieu wondered if he was doing it on purpose.

Once he had gotten the wrapping paper away and had opened the small cardboard box containing his gift, Mathieu thought it was time for a bit of explaining. Plus, it would give him something to focus on other than his nerves, which would be brilliant. 

“So… I got this for you because, one, I thought that would look very hot on you, and two, because I wanted something meaningful… So here, I just put both our birth dates, the date we got together and our football numbers…” Mathieu said, explaining what each line of numbers engraved in the metal meant. 

He had gotten Olivier dog-tags, because it would make him look badass (and hot), it was affordable and meaningful. Also, Mathieu thought this was the kind of thing Olivier would love wearing, as he was obsessed with fashion and loved accessories. 

Now that he was done with his explanation, Mathieu was even more nervous than before. What if it was too cheesy? Oh God, it totally was, wasn’t it? 

“It’s… It’s perfect” Olivier said, his voice wavering slightly. And really, Mathieu didn’t know what to make of this slight alteration in his usually composed and even voice. 

“Really?” Mathieu asked hopefully. 

Olivier finally detached his eyes from the item in order to look at his boyfriend before reaffirming: 

“Yes, really”

He then kissed Mathieu. The older boy smiled into the kiss, relieved by how well it had gone. 

Later that night, as they were lying in sleeping bags on the floor, Mathieu whispered: 

“I’m gonna do it” 

“You’re gonna do what?” Olivier asked in a sleepy voice, a bit confused. 

“I’m going to tell my mother about me… about us” Mathieu told him. 

Olivier was suddenly very awake and straightened up, looking at his boyfriend. 

“Really?” 

“Yes, as soon as we’re back home” Mathieu assured. 

“Are you sure?” Olivier asked worriedly. 

“I am… I feel like it’s now or never” He replied. 

“Right… Because I don’t want you to do that just because of what happened while we were here… I really didn’t mean to push you into telling your mother” Olivier explained. 

The last thing he wanted was for Mathieu to come out just because Olivier had given him the cold shoulder about that Sarah girl… if he came out without being truly ready for it, it could go very wrong, and Mathieu would probably hold it against him (quite rightfully so, by the way, because what kind of guys guilt-tripped their boyfriends into coming out?). If this happened, all Olivier would only be able to do was watch helplessly and feel guilty, which was far from appealing. 

“I know you didn’t… And that’s not because of that… I’m doing it because I have to” Mathieu assured him with a small smile.

He was freaking out a bit, but he was determined at least. He didn’t know where the aforementioned determination came from… maybe the recent events had played a part in his decision, to be honest, but it wasn’t just that… In that moment, as he was about to fall asleep next to his boyfriend on his little cousin’s bedroom floor, Mathieu had decided to finally come out… He didn’t know why precisely. Maybe it was a Christmas’ miracle. 

Olivier, who had lain back down, took Mathieu’s hand in his and squeezed it. 

“It’s going to be fine, you’ll see” 

“I hope so” Mathieu replied. After a moment of silence, he added: “Merry Christmas Oli”

“Merry Christmas sweetheart”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it wasn't too weird reading about Christmas in the midle of June ^^ but well, it's convenient because we're about halfway between last Christmas and next Christmas xD (and I often start singing Christmas songs at totally random moments of the year, so don't be surprised =P).


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really really really sorry for the delay... I should have posted this ages ago and I apologise to you guys. Hope you'll forgive me.

They were back home for New year’s Eve, and soon, it was time for Mathieu to do what he had promised himself he would do. 

“Are you sure?” Olivier asked for the umpteenth time. 

“Yeah… I am. I have to do it now, else I’ll never do it” Mathieu replied. “What about you? Still telling your father about us?” 

“Yeah” Olivier answered calmly, apparently without an ounce of nervousness, which Mathieu found both astounding and infuriating. 

“And you’re still not nervous at all?” He asked for good measure. 

“No” Olivier replied, “I’m attracted to guys and in love with one, it’s not gonna change anytime soon so I have to tell my father, being nervous about it won’t change that”. 

“I know it won’t, but it doesn’t help me not to be” Mathieu admitted unnecessarily. 

“It”ll go fine” Olivier assured him as he had many times before, engulfing him in a comforting embrace. 

Mathieu sighed and hugged him back. 

“That’s it love, just relax” Olivier instructed, kissing the top of his head 

However, as soon as the tension had left Mathieu’s body, they heard a key turning into the front door’s lock, and a few seconds later, Marie was coming in. 

“Hey boys!” She greeted. “What’s the occasion?” she asked with a smile, making a vague gesture to indicate she was referring to their embrace. 

“Hey mom… It’s just… Can I talk to you for a second?” Mathieu asked her anxiously. 

“Sure sweetie, whatever you want” his mother assured him with a reassuring smile.   
“I’ll leave you to it” Olivier declared, staring at Mathieu for a few seconds until he gave a sign to assure he would be fine. 

“I’ll see you later” Mathieu replied with a small smile which didn’t reach his eyes. 

To be honest, Olivier was more worried about Mathieu telling his mother than about himself having to tell his father. He would have liked to stay with his boyfriend and offer him his support, but he knew that it could only make things worse. This was something he had to do on his own. 

Once Olivier was gone from the room, Mathieu sat down on the couch and started fidgeting. 

“So, honey, what was it you wanted to tell me? I’m all ears” His mother said, watching him with attention, which only made Mathieu even more nervous than he was. 

“I… Well… there’s something I think you need to know about me… and well, it doesn’t only concern me, truth be told” Mathieu started, knowing perfectly well he was beating around the bush. Get on with it, damn it! He admonished himself. 

“Oh… and what would that be, hon?” Marie asked, trying to get him to open up. 

“I…” Mathieu started before he was interrupted by a loud ringtone. 

“Oh sorry, hang on a sec darling” Marie requested before answering her phone. 

Mathieu only got one half of the conversation, but from what he understood something had gone wrong, and that probably meant this long overdue conversation would have to wait for a bit longer. 

“I’m sorry sweetie, it was Samuel, his car broke down, and I have to go fetch him… But as soon as I come back, we can get back to where we were.” Marie assured him, getting up from the couch and grabbing her car keys from the coffee table. 

“Ok sure, no problem” Mathieu replied, hesitating between being relieved or exasperated. He was going to do it, finally, and now his tentative was ruined. 

Once his mother had slammed the door, Mathieu only had a few seconds before Olivier came running down the stairs: 

“Why is she gone? Did it go wrong?” He asked worriedly. 

“No, no… I just couldn’t tell her… Your dad had a problem with his car so she has to bring him home” Mathieu told him. 

“Oh…” Olivier replied, relieved that Mathieu was alright, but disappointed that his coming out had been further postponed. He knew that the more he had to wait, the more Mathieu would worry. 

“It’s fine though, isn’t it? You just have to wait for a few more hours…” Olivier asked, trying to comfort him. 

“Yeah… sure” Mathieu replied, not looking convinced. He sighed shakily, the nerves getting to him. 

“Hey, hey… don’t be anxious now love, it’ll be alright.” Olivier assured for what had to be the thousandth time, sitting next to his boyfriend and taking him in his arms. 

“You don’t know that” Mathieu mumbled. 

“You’re right… I don’t… But I really believe what I said anyway, your mum loves you…”

Mathieu answered nothing, just trying to calm down. Olivier’s presence really helped him not to mull things over too much: he could focus on the feel of his arms around him, or his hand playing tenderly with his hair instead of thinking about his mother. 

“I love you Olivier” he said after a while. 

“I love you too sweetheart” Olivier replied, tightening his embrace. 

“Let’s go for a walk” Mathieu then said. 

Olivier looked a bit surprised but he agreed, understanding that Mathieu wanting to distract himself from what he was about to do. 

They walked around town for about an hour, staying mostly silent. Olivier had tried a few times to start a conversation to distract his boyfriend but to no avail: Mathieu had just answered him with monosyllables and gone back to staring at his feet. 

“I’m sorry… I’m not the best company right now… to put it lightly” Mathieu apologised. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry” Olivier reassured him with a smile. 

Mathieu smiled back unconvincingly. “We should head back now. My mother is probably back” 

“As you want” Olivier agreed. 

Once they were back home, Mathieu went to his mother so they could resume their earlier conversation. 

“Hey sweetie, I’m sorry but I have to leave again, I have things to arrange for the wedding” His mother told him. 

“Oh… Fine… Okay… we’ll talk when you get back” Mathieu replied, abated. 

“Sure thing sweetie” Marie replied, seemingly in a hurry. 

Once she had gone, Olivier came to him once again. 

“What is it this time?” He asked with an apologetic look. 

“Stuff for the wedding, apparently” Mathieu answered with a sigh. “This is becoming ridiculous” 

“It is inconvenient, I can’t disagree with you on that one… But you’ll tell her tonight, no big deal” Olivier reasoned. 

“Right… I suppose” Mathieu agreed half-heartedly. 

If only Olivier had been right… When Marie came back, late in the afternoon, Mathieu tried a third time to talk to her (his determination was surprising, even to himself, but he thought he was probably acting out of exasperation more than anything else). 

“I’m sorry Mathieu but I still can’t talk right now… Samuel and I have to go to this dinner thing at his workplace…” Marie explained. 

“But mom! You told me we’d talk when you’d get back!” Mathieu complained. This was seriously starting to sound like a conspiracy. 

“I know darling… I’m sorry. But, in my defence, I had told you about that dinner, it’s not my fault you’ve forgotten about it” Marie replied. 

Mathieu shot her a dark look at that. First of all, his mother knew perfectly well that this wasn’t the kind of information teenagers paid any attention to. Secondly, she had seemingly forgotten about it too, else she wouldn’t have promised him that they could talk later twice this day. 

“I’m really sorry” Marie told him sincerely. “Is it that much of an emergency…?” 

“No, it is fine” Mathieu replied coolly, “we’ll talk later…”

“Now don’t be like that honey…” Marie requested. “I… Do you want me to stay? I can still cancel…” 

“No you can’t” Mathieu affirmed, and he was right: people would find it very rude if she cancelled so soon before the event, and they couldn’t have that considering these people were Samuel’s co-workers and hierarchic superiors. “It is fine, really” he assured, this time more nicely than the first. 

“Ok…” Marie replied, “I have to go, we’re already late… sorry again” She told him guiltily. 

Mathieu didn’t even bother answering and just went to sit down on the couch before turning the television on. He could not really make out why, though, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on what was happening on screen. Maybe he was hoping that the noise would had least be able to distract him a little. 

A few minutes later, Olivier joined him on the couch with a bag of sweets in his hands. He took one for himself and extended the bag to Mathieu wordlessly. He knew where their parents were, and he knew better than to refer to it in any way. Mathieu had already been annoyed after his second aborted tentative, so now was not the time to remind him of the third one. 

They stayed there in silence, sitting close together, eyes glued to the screen. At midnight, Olivier got up. 

“Do you think you’ll go to bed anytime soon?” He asked Mathieu. 

“No… I was thinking I’d wait for my mom to come back” He replied, looking up to him with half-closed eyes. 

“I don’t think it is reasonable, love… you look exhausted, and you know how late they usually come back from these things” Olivier tried to reason him. 

Mathieu just glared at him. Alright, it apparently was the wrong thing to say. 

Olivier sighed and bent down to kiss his boyfriend lightly. 

“Right, whatever you want, I’m going to bed” He then informed before walking up the stairs. 

“Good night…” Mathieu muttered, feeling a bit guilty for the way he was treating Olivier. It wasn’t his fault that Mathieu was feeling under pressure. 

Plus, he was right… Mathieu was truly exhausted… he deliberated for a little while before following the path Olivier had taken a few minutes earlier. He would feel better after a good night of rest, or at least he hoped so. 

He took his sweater off and laid down on the bed next to Olivier, who was laying on his side, facing the wall. 

“I’m sorry…” Mathieu whispered, spooning his boyfriend and placing his arm around his torso. 

Olivier didn’t answer, but he acknowledged his boyfriend’s apology and showed him it was accepted by putting his right hand over Mathieu’s where it was resting on his chest and intertwining their fingers.

Mathieu kissed the back of his neck. 

“Good night Oli”

“Good night Mati” Olivier whispered back, putting a smile he could not see on his boyfriend’s face. 

Unsurprisingly, Mathieu didn’t sleep very well that night and woke up feeling more tired than he was when he went to bed. 

“Good morning, baby” Olivier greeted him with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. 

“’Morning” Mathieu greeted him back. 

“Lighten up Mati, today you’ll finally be able to talk to your mother” Olivier assured. 

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here” Mathieu protested. “I would have never believed in the first place that it would take four tries to finally tell her… it might as well take five.” 

“Maybe… but still, it has to work out sooner or later, let’s just hope it will be very soon” Olivier replied. 

Mathieu looked at him for a few seconds, seemingly considering something. 

“You know, Oli… I won’t get cold feet just because it turns out to be harder than I thought, technically speaking. When I decided to do something, I do it.” He assured him. He was not blind, he had noticed that Olivier was eager for him to get it over with, and he understood that, really. 

“Right… I trust you, you know that… It’s just that… well, it would be understandable for you to change your mind after you’ve been turned down three times… and I kinda dreaded that you would” Olivier replied. 

“I won’t” Mathieu said, and he thought Olivier did look relieved. He was glad he could reassure his boyfriend. 

“Come on, let’s go” Mathieu ushered him, getting up and putting his sweater on. 

They got down the stairs together and went straight to the kitchen where Marie and Samuel would surely be eating breakfast. 

“Hello boys!” Marie greeted them both. 

“Hey mom. Can we talk now?” Mathieu asked, choosing to get straight to the point. 

“Don’t you want to eat breakfast first sweetie?” His mom asked, looking a bit nervous, even though Mathieu couldn’t quite figure out why she would be. 

“No… I’m not hungry anyway” He replied. 

“Oh… Okay, fine then, let’s go” Marie said, “just let me clean up a bit first” she requested, going for her empty bowl to go put it into the sink. However, Samuel’s hand stopped her and a strange look passed between them. 

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry” Olivier’s father assured, still looking straight into her eyes, as if they were having a silent conversation no one else could understand. They were definitely acting strangely. 

“Okay, thank you” Marie answered, but it sounded a bit snappy. 

Mathieu frowned, following his mother to the living-room. 

“What was that?” Olivier asked his father with a raised eyebrow. 

“What was what?” Samuel asked, playing dumb. Olivier was certain his father knew perfectly fine what he was referring to. 

“Never mind” Olivier answered, frowning slightly. Insisting would be of no use, now was not the time to argue. “I wanted to talk to you too, by the way” 

“Oh… well, I’m all ears” Samuel told his son, taking another bite of his buttered bread. He didn’t seem surprised, and Olivier understood the situation even less than before. Whatever…

“I’m attracted to men.” Olivier declared, straightforward as ever. 

“Okay…” Samuel replied, looking like he was feeling a bit awkward. 

“And I have a boyfriend.” Olivier added, choosing not to dwell on the fact his father was not reacting very strongly to what was supposed to be shocking news. 

“Yes… I suppose you wouldn’t be telling me, otherwise” Samuel remarked. 

“Right.” Olivier replied, feeling a bit awkward himself. Serious conversations with his father were always awkward, and they probably always would be. “And… that’s not all there is to it… The guy I’m with… It’s someone you know…” 

Meanwhile, Marie and Mathieu were having the same conversation: 

“Well, here we are… so… what was it you wanted to talk about?” Marie asked. 

Mathieu looked down at his feet and starting fiddling with his sleeves to prevent his hands from shaking. It did not work. It was now or never. 

“I… well, there’s something you need to know about me… something I should have told you a long time ago” he admitted without looking up from the ground. If he had, he would have seen his mother biting her lip guiltily. 

“I… I’m gay…” Mathieu admitted, closing his eyes, as if he were expecting his mother to yell at him, or hit him or react badly in any other way and didn’t want to see it happen. When she didn’t say anything, he continued, still not looking at her. 

“And… I have a boyfriend… It’s…” He wanted to tell her the whole truth, but it was damn hard to confess he was in love with his soon-to-be step-brother and that they had been in a relationship right under her nose for several months. “I’m sorry” he mumbled, passing his hand in his hair shakily. “It’s… it’s Olivier” he finally admitted, waiting for the earth to stop turning. 

Nothing of the sort happened though. Instead, his mother just put her hand on his shoulder from where she was standing up in front of him, making him look up at her for the first time since he had started talking and said something he would never have expected, not in a million years: 

“I know sweetie.” 

“I know” she repeated unnecessarily, for Mathieu had understood perfectly well the first time she had said it. He was shocked out of his mind.

How, in the world, was that possible?


	23. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you for your support and for bearing with me even though I didn't update for months. Here is the new chapter ;)  
> And special thanks to Κορακι (et oui, t'as vu ça, je me suis fait chier à aller chercher les caractères dans notre version xD et il y avait pas de xi donc je l'ai mis au datif et puis merde ^^), who read to chapter before I posted it and gave me her opinion :)

“What do you mean ‘you know’?” Mathieu stammered once he had recovered a bit from the shock. 

“Please Mathieu, I’m not blind, your guys weren’t exactly subtle” His mother told him, “you’ve been stuck by the hip since we’re arrived, except for when you were fighting. And beside it’s not hard to see you’re in love with each other, especially since you’re my son” Marie explained with a smile. 

“And… why didn’t you say anything?” Mathieu asked. 

“I wanted you to tell me when you were ready” His mother answered. 

Mathieu said nothing for a while. “I can’t believe you knew… since when have you known?” 

“Well, I’ve had suspicions for a long time… but I was absolutely sure once you changed rooms and converted your old one in a guest room” Marie explained. 

“Right… I admit it wasn’t very subtle” Mathieu agreed. “And… you’re okay with it…? Just like that?” 

Marie hesitated before answering: “I’m not going to lie to you… it was a bit hard at first… it’s a lot to take in… But what disappointed me most of all is that you waited so long before telling me” Marie admitted. 

“So you’re mad at me?” Mathieu asked, beating his lip. 

“No… I’m not… It would be pretty hypocritical of me to be mad at you for hiding things from me” Marie told him guiltily. 

Mathieu frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“Well… I’ve been hiding things from you too…” His mother confessed. 

“What things?” Mathieu asked, not really knowing if he wanted an answer to his question. Considering how guilty his mother looked, it could mean nothing good. 

“I told you how your father left me before you were born…” Marie started hesitantly. 

“Yeah…” Mathieu replied wearily, not liking one bit where this was going. 

“I might have forgotten to mention some important part of what happened…” Marie admitted, not looking at her son. 

“He’s not dead, is he?” Mathieu asked, somewhat worriedly, even though it did not make sense to be worried about someone he had never met.

“No… that’s not it” His mother replied.

After that, you could almost hear the gears turning in Mathieu’s head and then…

“No… It can’t be” he protested heartily, finally realising what his mother meant. 

“Sweetie...”

“No! Don’t “sweetie” me! I can’t believe it… How could you lie to me all these years” Mathieu half-yelled, getting up from the couch. He started pacing angrily. 

“I didn’t exactly lie to you…” His mother tried, but she was interrupted once again. 

“Oh no! You just hid the truth from me since I was born, it’s so much better than lying right?” Mathieu asked sarcastically. “I can’t believe you let me believe my father didn’t want me… for eighteen fucking years”. He knew his mother didn’t like it when he swore, but he couldn’t care less, given the circumstances. 

“Look... I realise I made a huge mistake… but it was complicated at the time… I haven’t made the best decision but I didn’t know what to do… I was very young and…” 

“I don’t care, I don’t want to hear any of it right now” Mathieu decided to go clear his head outside and slammed the front door behind him. 

“This doesn’t sound good at all” Olivier flinched after he had heard the door slam. 

“Indeed…” Samuel agreed, focused intensely on his cup of coffee. 

Olivier frowned and asked: 

“You know something I don’t, don’t you?” 

“Maybe…” His father answered evasively. 

“Right… Do you think I should check up on him then?” Olivier asked. 

“I don’t know… maybe you should give him a bit of space but, then again, I know you won’t” Samuel answered. 

“Damn right I won’t” Olivier agreed before he followed Mathieu outside. 

He hadn’t understood much about what had been said, as the kitchen door had been closed, but he knew that Mathieu was really mad at his mother. Olivier had never heard that much anger in his boyfriend’s voice. 

He found him in a miserable state, to say the least. Mathieu was sitting on the front stairs, crying silently and angrily wiping his tears away from time to time. 

Olivier sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around him. Mathieu was irresponsive at first, but he soon hugged his boyfriend back, needing the comfort even though he was reluctant to admit it. 

“You know you can talk to me about what happened whenever you’re ready” Olivier half-informed, half-stated. 

“I know” Mathieu affirmed quietly, but he didn’t say anything more, which Olivier expected. 

Olivier started caressing his hair while Mathieu cried on his shoulder, trying to appease him at least a little. He was feeling guilty. He could not help but think Mathieu had been influenced by him in his decision to come out even if he had told him it wasn’t the case. Olivier kept quiet about it though, because right now Mathieu needed comforting and helping him feel better was all that mattered.  
He didn’t learn about what had happened until they went to bed, where Mathieu told him everything. Olivier was left speechless for a while, unable to process what he had just heard. 

“I know, shocking right?” Mathieu said. 

“I can’t believe she would do something like that” Olivier said, shock etched upon his features. “Did she give you some kind of explanation?” 

“No… some bullshit about being young and not knowing what to do… as if it could excuse not telling me my father doesn’t know I exist” Mathieu answered. “Then again, I didn’t really let her explain anything”. 

“I can’t say I blame you” Olivier replied to that. “So… I suppose you don’t plan on talking to her anytime soon” 

“You suppose right” Mathieu answered.

“And, will you try to contact your father?” Olivier asked. 

“I don’t know… I think I need some time to think about it… Anyway, after eighteen years, another few days won’t hurt” Mathieu replied. 

“Right… Taking some time is good… It’s been a pretty harsh day” Olivier agreed. 

“Yeah, you can say that again…. About that by the way, did it go alright with your father?” Mathieu wondered. 

“Yeah… It was a bit awkward, exactly as planned, but it went fine” Olivier explained. 

“Good… I’m glad that at least one thing went well today” Mathieu replied. 

Olivier looked at him sympathetically at that. “Do you want to go out, take a walk… I don’t know, maybe take a football and go to the park?” He questioned. 

“Yeah… taking a walk might actually help” Mathieu agreed, trying to offer a reassuring smile. Football was enticing… but it meant going back into the house to retrieve the ball… so it was a no. 

“Brilliant, let’s go then” Olivier ushered, getting up from the front steps and extending his hand to Mathieu.

Mathieu took his hand and didn’t let go of it once he was up as he usually would. Olivier looked at him intently, a bit surprised by his behaviour. He didn’t say anything, though, and started walking, still holding Mathieu’s hand. Once they were in the street, where anyone could see them, Olivier asked: 

“Are you sure?” Referring to the hand-holding. He hadn’t expected Mathieu to be comfortable about going public so soon after they had come out to their parents. 

“Yeah… I am” Mathieu assured, squeezing Olivier’s hand briefly and offering a smile which looked far more genuine than the one he had forced earlier. 

“What if someone from school sees us?” Olivier asked. 

“I don’t mind… Do you?” Mathieu asked in return. 

“No… Some of the guys might take it the wrong way that we haven’t told them though” Olivier replied, thinking about Laurent and Mesut mostly. 

“Yeah… probably… But we’ll explain to them that we couldn’t let them know before because our parents didn’t know” Mathieu proposed. “Do you think that some of them won’t accept us?” 

“I don’t know…” Olivier offered. “I think that our closest friends won’t mind… Friendship before all, you know… Plus, I’ve known most of them for a long time and I know that they aren’t douches, so we should be fine… But some people won’t be as accepting as we would have liked, for sure.” 

“But these people don’t matter to us, right?”  
“They really don’t” Olivier agreed, smiling brightly.

Mathieu smiled back, forgetting everything about his mother for a while. 

However, they had to go back home, sooner or later, and Mathieu had to face his mother one day. He avoided her at all costs for a few weeks, just went to school, to training and hung out with Olivier without even saying a word to her, but it could not last. She was his mother, no matter how bad she had screwed up this time. 

“Mathieu…” Olivier started tentatively one day, as they were walking home after their training session “don’t you think you should at least hear your mother out… I know what she did is awful… but maybe she had her reasons… I don’t mean to say that it would excuse lying to you but… maybe it isn’t as crazy as it looks like”. 

“I don’t know Oli” Mathieu replied, looking down at his shoes. “I don’t think I’m ready yet”

“Right… I totally understand… It’s a lot to overcome” Olivier agreed. “But you do plan on talking to her again?” 

“Of course I do” Mathieu sighed. “She screwed up but what I used to say before coming out is still a valid argument: she’s the only family I have and I love her… she’s my mother… and the fact she’s been lying to me doesn’t annihilate everything she’s ever done for me… I am fully aware of that… I’m just really, really mad at her”. 

Olivier took Mathieu’s hand at that and intertwined their fingers, trying to physically show his support, as he didn’t think anything he would say could make him feel better. 

“And… Have you thought about whether you’d try to find your father or not?” Olivier asked. 

“Yeah… I have… I’ll give it a try. I don’t see why not” Mathieu replied. “I really want to meet him”. 

“Okay… You must be kinda excited” Olivier stated. 

“Yeah…” Mathieu agreed with a small smile which quickly disappeared from his face. Too quickly, if Olivier had anything to say about it. 

“The thing is… I have to talk to my mother… else I haven’t got the slightest chance to find him” Mathieu explained. 

“I know”. Olivier knew that Mathieu didn’t even know his father’s last name, nor did he know if he still lived in Lille… or if he had been living there in the first place, for that matter. 

“Also… it’s been really hard to ignore her lately… she’s staring at me with teary eyes every chance she’s got… and I don’t think I can stand seeing her like that any longer” Mathieu admitted. 

“Are you saying that you are going to talk to her soon?” Olivier asked, even though Mathieu had told him he wasn’t ready to a few minutes ago. 

“I… I’m saying that I’ll think about it” Mathieu finally answered. 

“Okay” Olivier paused for a second before saying: “I have something to tell you… you won’t like it”. 

“What is it?” Mathieu asked quickly. 

“I won’t be home this weekend... I’m going to spend it at my mom’s” Olivier explained. 

“Oh… Oh… Fine” Mathieu answered, looking down. 

“Hey… don’t shut down…” Olivier protested, framing Mathieu’s face with his large hands. “If you think you won’t be okay staying here on your own, I can change my plans… I’ll stay here, or you can come with me at my mom’s, she won’t mind… I’m sure she’ll barely be there anyway”. 

“No, no, it’s okay, don’t worry” Mathieu said unconvincingly, “I’ll be fine. You haven’t seen your mom in such a long time… I’d hate to spoil this weekend” 

“You wouldn’t spoil anything, love” Olivier assured, kissing him lightly on the lips. 

“Still… I’ll stay here, don’t worry about me” Mathieu reiterated before going back to kissing Olivier. 

“Okay… but if you change your mind, don’t hesitate to tell me” Olivier requested. 

“I will, I promise” Mathieu agreed. 

Olivier hugged him and kissed the top of his head. 

“Shall we go to bed?” 

Olivier felt Mathieu nod so he led him to their room, not letting go of him. That night, they fell asleep touching from head to toes, with Mathieu’s back to Olivier’s chest and woke up with their limbs tangled up messily. They wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. 

“Good morning sunshine” Olivier smiled. “Time to shower” 

“Mph” Mathieu groaned in protestation. He’d never get used to Olivier’s chirpy mood in the morning. 

“Come on, don’t be a spoilsport…” Olivier teased him. He knew perfectly well what he had to do to make his boyfriend get up, but he felt like dragging it on for a little while. 

“Let me be” Mathieu mumbled, pushing him away weakly, still half-asleep. 

“That’s too bad… you’re gonna let me shower all alone… I thought we would have glorious shower sex…. I must admit I’m particularly disappointed” Olivier complained, knowing it would wake Mathieu up real quick. 

Mathieu opened his eyes suddenly, even though he made no immediate movement. 

“Okay… I’m coming” 

“Yeah, that was my whole point” Olivier joked with a chuckle. 

Mathieu rolled his eyes, smiling fondly as Olivier’s innuendo. He was so predictable sometimes… and the worse was that it still worked on Mathieu anyway. 

Once they were in the shower, they obviously focused on the sex part first, not caring that they might end up being late for class. 

“You know what’s really nice?” Olivier asked in between two heated kisses. 

“No… What?” Mathieu asked, breathing heavily. 

“We’re all alone” Olivier said, referring to the fact their parents had gone off to work, “so we can be as loud as we want” he whispered hotly in Mathieu’s ear. 

Mathieu moaned, as if on cue. The thought was insanely hot. 

And loud they were, their moans and pants echoing on the bathroom tiles. They also didn’t care anymore about leaving marks on each other’s bodies, as they were now out. 

They had told their closest friends about them, and even though they hadn’t told the rest of the football team, they were pretty sure that everyone knew. They weren’t exactly being subtle about it after all: even though they didn’t kiss each other or hold hands at school, it was hard to hide their relationship when they constantly showed up in the showers with the marks they’d left on each other. Thankfully, no one talked about it, as if they all had a silent agreement. They were friends and teammates and sexuality shouldn’t matter to any of them. 

Rumours were circulating, for sure, especially among the rest of their schoolmates, but nothing nasty had happened, so it was quite alright, all in all. Mathieu suspected Olivier’s popularity (and the fact he was built like a fucking brick wall too) played a part in how smoothly it went.

Mathieu had a perfectly fine week: he had spent a lot of time with Olivier, he hadn’t gotten that much homework, and he had managed to avoid his mother pretty well. But then weekend came, and what was usually everyone’s favourite moment (aka the bell signalling the end of the last class of the week) totally spoiled his mood. 

He came back home with Olivier, as they always did, and then watched him pack his bag. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” 

“Yeah, for the umpteenth time, darling, I’m sure” Mathieu answered. He really didn’t want to intrude. “I’ll be fine” he added, noticing Olivier’s worried gaze, “plus we have a match tomorrow, so I’ll see you there anyway”. 

“Right… right” Olivier agreed reluctantly. 

He then proceeded to kiss Mathieu goodbye, really thoroughly… Not that Mathieu was complaining about that. 

 

On Saturday, Olivier was nervous, not because of the match in itself but because he would see Mathieu and would be able to tell if he was really feeling as well as he had assured in the texts he had sent on Friday, or if this had all been a lie. 

“Hey sweetheart, are you okay?” Olivier asked, joining his boyfriend behind the locker-room as they had said they would. 

“Yeah, fine, what about you? Having a nice weekend?” Mathieu asked with a small smile. 

“Good, good” Olivier replied, “I’m really happy you’re alright” he said, hugging Mathieu… a tad too enthusiastically. 

“Oli… too tight, love” Mathieu squeaked. 

“Right… sorry” Olivier apologised, letting go of him. 

“No harm done” Mathieu replied, “Now let’s go get dressed, else we’re gonna be late for warm-up and the coach will have our asses”. 

“Damn right he will” Olivier agreed, following Mathieu to the dressing-room. 

After that, the rest of the weekend went smoothly for Olivier, who believed Mathieu was fine. He kept on sending him texts every few hours to check up on him, though. Mathieu would answer to each one in the same way: assuring he was fine. 

However, when Olivier came back home on Sunday evening, he heard Mathieu talking to Yohan on the phone, and he found out that Mathieu’s weekend hadn’t been as calm and uneventful as he had tried to make him believe.

“No, no, I’m fine… It’s just… I had a talk with my mom… you know, about my father… and it was quite hard on me, that’s all” Mathieu explained with a sniff which indicated he had been crying and instantly worried Olivier. 

He didn’t want to eavesdrop on Mathieu, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave either, so he decided to let him know he had arrived. 

“Oh… hey Oli” Mathieu said, looking surprised to see him come home so early, quickly averting his eyes, maybe so Olivier wouldn’t notice they were red. Well, too late for that. 

“I see… I’ll call you back later then, mate…” Olivier heard Yohan say, and he thanked him mentally for being comprehensive and giving them time to talk. 

“Yeah, thanks man, see you” Mathieu replied before hanging up. He didn’t look at Olivier though, keeping his eyes on his phone. 

“You had promised me” Olivier said reproachfully, knowing Mathieu would understand what he was referring to. 

“Technically I had promised to call if I changed my mind, and I didn’t… I still didn’t want to ruin your weekend” Mathieu said, his voice cracking a bit. Olivier instantly felt like a dick for his accusing attitude. Mathieu really didn’t need that right now. He kneeled in front of Mathieu and took his hands in his after he had put his phone away. 

“I’m sorry for reacting that way, baby, I just hate seeing you hurt” He apologised. 

“’s nothing” Mathieu mumbled. 

Olivier felt awful, as if someone was trying to rip his heart from his chest. 

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” 

“Well… nothing much… My mother and I just talked for a while…” Mathieu replied. 

“Yeah… I had gotten that… But if it put you in such a state, don’t tell me it was “nothing much”” Olivier told him. To him, something which made Mathieu cry was damn much… far too much. 

“I… I’ll tell you about what she said… but not tonight” Mathieu finally said. 

“Okay, not tonight…” Olivier agreed, and they went to bed shortly after that, Mathieu falling asleep in Olivier’s arms once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? ^^


	24. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support guys! There is someone who reviewed and pointed out that I had posted the same chapter twice without noticing, so I suppressed the second version; the problem is that it also deleted the reviews so I would like to thank this person for taking the time to comment :).   
> This is the last chapter!! After that, I'll post an epilogue, and then this fic will be over.

“So, what is it that she told you?” Olivier asked on the next day, as they were eating breakfast. 

“She told me a bit more about my father… and what happened between them and stuff” Mathieu answered, staring at his cereals. 

“So?” Olivier urged him on, knowing he would not continue of his own volition. 

“Well I… I can’t say I forgive her… She did lie to me my whole life, after all… But maybe I understand her a bit more. I don’t know really… I’m still fucking mad at her” Mathieu replied. 

“That’s understandable” Olivier replied, “And… Are you going to be a bit more precise about what she told you or…?” he then asked tentatively. 

“Hm… where can I start? Well… at first, she didn’t tell him she was pregnant because he was going to leave for England… for God knows how long… you know, he’s a businessman of some sort, apparently… Then she regretted not telling him… she probably noticed it was a fucking stupid idea… Anyway, she tried calling him, but of course he had changed his number… he seems like a bit of a jackass… he could have sent her his new number… But whatever, this isn’t the point.” Mathieu explained. “So okay, maybe she tried telling him, but she could have tried harder… I don’t know, contact some relative of his or I don’t know… they were together for months… She probably knew a bit more about him than just his name and phone number” he then complained. 

“Yeah… I can’t really argue with that… But maybe she was afraid of rejection” Olivier suggested. “I mean… imagine what it looked like from where she was standing: she had a boyfriend, he left for England, and he didn’t give her his new phone number or address… It’s more than enough to deter someone from telling something they were already afraid to tell in the first place…”

Mathieu stared at him for a second, speechless. 

“Well… this was… surprisingly insightful” 

“Thanks…” Olivier replied sarcastically, but he chuckled to show he wasn’t offended by the indirect insult to his unfathomable wisdom. 

“Sorry” Mathieu apologised sheepishly. 

“So… Okay, you might have a point there… But still, the fact that she had her reasons not to tell my father that she was pregnant doesn’t excuse the fact that she lied to me about it” he then protested. 

“Yeah, that’s true… It’s hard to forgive.” Olivier completely agreed with that. Marie had probably planned to wait for Mathieu to be old enough to understand what she’d tell him… but once he was old enough, she probably hadn’t known how to tell him so he wouldn’t be too mad at her. Thing was, he would have been mad, no matter how she’d have told him. However, he would have been less mad than he was now. She had undoubtedly waited for too long before telling him. 

“But I know I’ll forgive her anyway, in the end” Mathieu assured. “I feel betrayed and all, but one day it will die down.” 

“I know you will” Olivier smiled at him. 

Mathieu smiled back and asked: 

“What about you? How was your weekend?” 

“It was… Fine. My mother was working for the biggest part of the day, and she didn’t come to see me play… But well, I’ve seen her at least a little… It’s something already” Olivier explained, trying not to sound dejected, but failing a bit. 

Mathieu took his hand on top of the table, and whispered: 

“I’m sorry, I should have asked you before”. 

Olivier squeezed his hand briefly before replying: 

“I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m used to it… My mom was never really in my life… well, for as long as I can remember anyway”.

“It doesn’t make it alright” Mathieu assured. It even made it worse, in his opinion.

“You’re right” Olivier sighed. “But let’s say I’m resigned”.   
“You know… I don’t like your mother even though I’ve never met her. It feels weird to dislike someone without even knowing how they look like” Mathieu told him. 

“I bet it is yeah” Olivier chuckled. 

“Do you think our parents will invite her to their wedding?” Mathieu wondered. 

“Mmh… It’s a good question, actually… I don’t know. I don’t think my father cares much if she’s here or not. You know, they don’t hate each other or anything… They just don’t love each other anymore. So I guess it depends of what your mother thinks about it” Olivier answered. 

“Okay… Well, I don’t know what she’d have to say about it… and I’m not going to ask her anytime soon, so I suppose we’ll have to wait and see”. Mathieu declared. 

“Sure. Thing is, I’m not even sure she’ll come if she gets an invitation.” Olivier admitted. 

“Well… It doesn’t matter anyway, we won’t have much time to notice these kind of things. ‘Cause we’re probably going to spend the night talking to each and every people present, even if it’s a family member we don’t even remember because we haven’t seen them since we were four” Mathieu said, already imagining it. The thought itself bored him to death already. 

Olivier groaned, “Oh God, yes. I’m pretty sure there are people from my family that I’ve never even met”. 

“Damn, this is gonna be one hell of a night.” Mathieu complained in reply. “Plus we’ll have to dress up”. 

“I actually like that part” Olivier informed. 

“I know” Mathieu laughed. “At least, I won’t have as many people from my family present, ‘cause they live far away and all” he gloated. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you” Olivier said with a knowing smirk that could mean nothing good for Mathieu. “I heard that our parents were thinking about doing the reception somewhere in between Lille and Montpellier so that the people invited would be on equal footing.” 

“Fuck” Mathieu simply replied, which made Olivier laugh mockingly.

Later that day, Mathieu was fetching some books from his locker when three guys he didn’t even know approached him menacingly. 

“What do you want?” He asked, hostile. 

“Is that true?” 

“Is what true?” Mathieu asked. He had an idea of what this jackass meant, but he was going to play dumb, to adapt to his intellectual level. 

“That you’re a fag” Stupid guy said. 

“I don’t think this is any of your business” Mathieu answered, his teeth grinding. 

“Oh, I think it is. I deserve to know it, if a fucking fag comes anywhere near me” Stupid guy replied, slamming Mathieu’s locker shut in what was probably supposed to be a threatening gesture. 

“Oh… Don’t worry about that. I don’t think anyone would like to come anywhere near you” Mathieu assured him, watching the guy’s face wrinkling in anger. 

He looked like he was either going to say something else or to punch Mathieu square in the face, but he was interrupted by Laurent, who was walking quickly towards them with a frown on his face. The guy and his mute minions left at once. These guys had no balls, they were even afraid of a three against two confrontation.

“Hey… what was that?” Laurent asked, gesturing to the retreating bullies. 

“Just stupid homophobes, don’t worry” Mathieu replied, “they’re just cowards”. 

Laurent didn’t look reassured, though, and kept frowning. 

“Okay… but you tell me if they give you any more shit, okay?” 

“No problem” Mathieu agreed with a smile, but Laurent had a feeling he wouldn’t tell him anything. 

At lunch, Laurent sent a text to Olivier, even though he was sitting right in front of him. He didn’t want Mathieu to know what he was going to tell him, and it was pretty hard to catch Olivier without him these days. 

From: Laurent  
To: Olivier  
Did you get any problem with homophobic fuckers today?

Laurent could see Olivier frowning as he read his message. 

From: Olivier  
To: Laurent  
No… where is this coming from? And why aren’t you asking me directly?

From: Laurent  
To: Olivier  
This is about Mathieu… There were three guys by his locker this morning, apparently they gave him shit because they heard he was gay. 

From: Olivier   
To: Laurent  
What the fuck?! Why didn’t he tell me? Did they hurt him? 

From: Laurent  
To: Olivier  
Seriously mate? You’re asking me why Mathieu didn’t tell you anything?  
He told me he was fine… but you know how he is. 

Olivier looked pretty upset after that. 

“Oli, are you okay?” Mathieu asked as they were walking home that night. 

Olivier looked like he was deliberating whether to tell him what was bothering him or not. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Why didn’t I tell you what?” Mathieu asked, puzzled. 

“Why didn’t you tell me about these homophobic assholes?” Olivier clarified. 

Mathieu sighed, “Laurent told you?” He asked, but it sounded more like a statement. 

Olivier nodded. 

“Look Oli… I wasn’t going to tell you in the middle of the canteen” Mathieu said, even though they both knew he wasn’t planning on telling him at all, “besides, it was nothing” 

“It wasn’t nothing!” Olivier protested angrily, “you can’t let these guys get away so easily”. 

Mathieu passed his hand in his hair, “look Oli, I don’t think there’s anything we can do. These guys have barely done anything, they just said stupid shit. These things happen every day in high-school. Plus, if I tell the school authorities what they’ve done, it’s my word against theirs, and they were three. Let it go alright, there’s no harm done. I don’t care about what they said”. 

Olivier still didn’t look appeased. 

“Oli” Mathieu insisted.

“Okay, fine. But I don’t like it” Olivier replied. 

“I know” Mathieu sighed, taking Olivier’s hand in his, hoping it would help him relax a little. 

They stopped talking about it after that, but Mathieu could feel that it was hanging between them. So, he did his best to talk about something else with Olivier, so he wouldn’t think about it too much. 

“You know… I haven’t told my mother yet that I want to find my father. I think I’m gonna wait for a while, because she have the wedding to prepare” Mathieu told him. “and she’ll have to do all the work for me to find him, ‘cause I have no idea how to”. 

“I think it’s nice of you to be patient. Plus, that way your anger will diminish a bit.” Olivier replied. 

“Yeah, I think it will too” Mathieu agreed. 

Things were relatively fine until one day, at school, Mathieu was violently pushed by Stupid guy in the middle of the corridor and fell down, his files and books flying everywhere. Laurent, who had been walking to class with him, caught the bully by his backpack before he could escape and then slammed him to the nearest wall while Mathieu was gathering his things, some girl helping him after she had witnessed what had happened. 

“You listen to me, you fucking wanker, if you touch him again, I’ll bash your head so hard that even your mother won’t be able to recognise you”. 

Seeing this, the guy’s minions fled, obviously, as the cowards they were, and the guy looked like he was on the verge of fainting. 

“Now clear out of my sight” Laurent nearly growled, letting go of him suddenly. 

The guy ran away pathetically, as was expected of him.

Mathieu thanked the girl and looked at Laurent as if it was the first time he had ever seen him. He was always so calm and composed, even on the football pitch, that Mathieu was shocked to see him get so worked up. 

“Are you alright?” Laurent asked him. 

“Yeah… Don’t worry. I’ve never seen you like this” Mathieu admitted. 

“I’m not easily riled up, but if someone hurts one of my friends… well, let’s say they’re in for a ride”. Laurent answered him. “By the way, you should tell Olivier before someone else does” he added, looking pointedly at their audience (aka the various pupils who had watched the whole thing unfold). 

Mathieu sighed, knowing Laurent was right. “I will.” 

He decided to tell him as soon as he could, to get it over with. 

“Oli… I’ve got something to tell you but you have to promise me that you will stay calm and that you won’t do anything stupid” Mathieu started. 

Olivier frowned at that, and replied: 

“No… Sorry, but I can’t promise you that” 

“Olivier” Mathieu sighed, rolling his eyes. 

“I really can’t” he assured again. 

“Ok fine, be stubborn” Mathieu said. “I’m going to tell you anyway, because you’re going to hear about it anyway, sooner rather than later, but know that I don’t feel like it. At all.”

“Right…” Olivier replied, not liking where this was going. 

“Something happened today… the guy from the other day… he pushed me down in the corridor, made me fall… And of course, I was carrying stuff, else it wouldn’t have been half as fun” he said, realising too late that it was probably not a good time to start being ironic. 

“I’m going to kill the son of a bitch” Olivier said coldly, his hands balling up into fists. 

“Wow, wow, calm down. No one’s gonna kill anyone” Mathieu affirmed. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the guy’s not going to bother me anymore, after the fright Laurent gave him”. 

“What did he do?” Olivier asked, still looking furious, but trying to relax. There was nothing he could do right now, anyway.

“He slammed the guy against the wall and threatened to disfigure him” Mathieu summarised. 

“Right… Remind me to thank him for giving the son of a bitch what he deserves” Olivier replied. 

“Fine. Now, let’s be clear: I don’t want you to do anything about it. Alright?” Mathieu asked. 

“But…” Olivier started, but he was immediately interrupted by Mathieu. 

“No! I’m telling you, okay. You won’t do anything, and that’s all” He said with authority. 

Olivier started sulking at that, and they came back home in silence. 

“Why don’t you want me to do anything? I don’t get it…” Olivier finally asked once they were getting ready for bed, unable to stand it any longer. 

“I don’t want you to be in trouble because of assholes who aren’t worth it… Also, I can take care of myself, alright? I don’t need a knight in shining armour.” Mathieu replied. The fact that Laurent had chosen to defend him when the guy had pushed him was enough as it was. He didn’t want to seem weak, it would only bring more problems. If he thought the assholes had the balls to bother him again, he would do something about it, but he was sure this wouldn’t happen. The guy had nearly peed himself thanks to Laurent. 

Olivier sighed, answering nothing. 

“Olivier, please, it’s really important to me” Mathieu insisted, wanting Olivier to verbalise his agreement. 

“Okay… fine… I still want to kill him but I’ll try to refrain, for you” he agreed, albeit really reluctantly. 

“Thank you” Mathieu answered, meaning it. 

Olivier did not break his promise, even though he would glare at the bullies every time they would cross paths with them. If Laurent’s intimidation had not been keeping them away, this certainly would have.

The next few months were pretty uneventful, Mathieu had started working more on his homework, trying to prepare for the bac as well as he could, Olivier prepared for the first bac exams, and their parents continued to organize their upcoming wedding. However, Mathieu soon noticed something was amiss. Olivier was acting a bit weird. He was still kissing him and holding his hand every chance he got, and he was still being his cheery self… but he was talking a bit less… almost as if he was afraid to let something slip. 

“Olivier… Are you hiding something from me?” Mathieu asked one day, deciding to be straightforward. It worked for Olivier, so why not? 

“What? Why? What makes you say that?” He stammered. 

Okay, Mathieu had him. 

“Because you’re acting weird, don’t try to deny it.” Mathieu affirmed. 

Olivier sighed at that. 

“Is this about the bullies again?” Mathieu asked, puzzled. He had been sure this problem had been laid to rest a long time ago. 

“No… No it isn’t about them, I promise” Olivier assured him. 

“Then, what is it about?” Mathieu asked again. 

“I can’t tell you… but it’s nothing bad, I promise… It’s just… let’s say it’s a surprise of some sorts” Olivier told him. 

Mathieu raised an eyebrow. 

“Please don’t ask me more” Olivier requested before Mathieu could ask anything more. “I’ve already said too much”. 

“Fine… I won’t” Mathieu agreed, somewhat disappointed. He wasn’t that fond of surprises, especially when he knew there was going to be one. That made him nervous. 

“Now” Olivier started, to divert Mathieu’s attention from what they had just talked about, “as you know, our parents are getting married this weekend”

“Yeah… And?” 

“And after that they’re leaving for their honeymoon” Olivier continued. 

“Oh…” Mathieu replied. 

“You see where I’m going with that” Olivier smiled. 

“Well, if you mean that we’re going to have the house for ourselves for two weeks and that we’ll be able to have sex as many times as we want to, then yes, I see where you’re going with this” Mathieu said, smiling back. 

“I knew we’d be on the same page” Olivier affirmed, kissing him languorously. 

“Yeah, well, when have we wasted any occasion to have sex?” Mathieu asked rhetorically before going back to kissing Olivier. 

The weekend, and therefore the wedding, arrived quickly, and the boys were in their room, packing for the few days they’d spent away. Their parents had decided to get married in Dijon, because it was about halfway between Lille and Montpellier. That meant a five-hour drive, and missing their football game. 

“It’s gonna be boring” Olivier complained. 

“Yeah, and we’re gonna miss football” Mathieu complained back. 

“At least, we’ll have the house for ourselves after that. Thinking about all the mind-blowing sex we are going to have is going to help me get through this” Olivier said, only half-joking. 

“Mmh, that’s a nice thought” Mathieu agreed before he went over to Olivier’s side of the bed and kissed him. 

They were quickly interrupted, though, as Marie passed in front of their room and told them: 

“Come on boys, finish packing, would you? You’ll have time for that later”

She’d been stressed out about the wedding for at least two weeks, and the boys (as well as Samuel), were eager for it to be over, because she had managed to make everyone nervous. 

“We’re leaving in ten minutes” she added before going back on her way to… wherever. 

Mathieu rolled his eyes. “God, this is gonna be one hell of a trip” he said, to which Olivier burst out laughing. 

“Come on, it’s not going to be that bad.” He protested, seemingly trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Mathieu. 

It turned out to be pretty bad, in the end, at least in the beginning. First there was the ceremony, and then the beginning of the reception, where they had to stay close to their parents and greet all the guests, half of which they didn’t recognise. It was… captivating. Ahem. 

At some point, his mother came toward him with a guest, a man who seemed to be in his mid-forties.

“Mathieu, there’s someone I’d like you to meet” Marie told him, which he found peculiar. She hadn’t bothered presenting the other guests he didn’t know. He found it even stranger when Olivier put an end to his on-going conversation with one of the guests to come towards them. Granted, the conversation had looked extremely boring, but so were almost all of them. 

“This is Eric” Marie went on, interrupting his reflexion, “your father”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it :)


	25. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here is the epilogue :)   
> I'm really happy because it's only the second fic I manage to finish, so it feels like quite the achievement from where I stand ^^  
> I would like to thank you all for your support!! You guys were really great <3   
> Oh and, of course, I hope you like the epilogue (it's quite short, but well =P)

Seven years later: 

“So, who wants to tell the class what they are going to do this weekend?” Mrs Legrand asked on Friday afternoon, noticing that the class had trouble concentrating as weekend was approaching fast. 

“Yes, Louise” She then said, gesturing to the little girl who had raised her hand excitedly as soon as she had uttered the question. 

“I’m going to a wedding” the little girl, Louise, said. 

“Oh, brilliant. Whose wedding is it?” The teacher asked. 

“My brothers’ wedding.” Louise replied with a bright smile. 

“Which one sweetie?” Mrs Legrand questioned, knowing that her pupil had two big brothers. 

“Both.” 

“Both? They are getting married on the same day?” She asked, a bit surprised. 

“Of course ma’am, they are getting married together” The six-year old said, shocking the whole class. Noticing her classmates wide eyes and gaping mouth, she further explained: “but they’re not brothers…” her parents had explained the situation to her several times, but she didn’t feel like sharing with the whole class, because she found it a bit complicated. If the others knew her brothers were not brothers, then it was quite enough for her. Plus, she found her classmates quite dumb for believing they were brothers in the first place: didn’t they know that you couldn’t marry someone from your family? They were six now, they weren’t babies anymore. 

“Okay… nice… Someone else wants to tell us what their plans are for the weekend?” Mrs Legrand tried to change the subject. 

Louise did not mind the strange looks she got from the other kids for the rest of the afternoon, and at the end of the day, she ran across the yard to get to her brother, who was waiting for her. 

She jumped in his arms and hugged him. 

“Hey sweetie, you had a nice day at school?” Mathieu asked, hugging her back. 

Louise then proceeded to tell him all about her day, and Mathieu listened to her with rapt attention, especially when she talked about the wedding part. Mathieu blushed, wondering what his little sister’s teacher had thought. People were often judgemental about Olivier and him, either because they were gay or because they were step-brothers, but he didn’t really care. They were happy together, and they had been for nearly eight years now. That was all that mattered. 

They walked together to the café-restaurant Olivier and he owned, and when they came in, they found Olivier chatting with a gorgeous woman, smiling charmingly at everything she said. Typical. He would never stop, would he? 

When he saw Mathieu and Louise, he excused himself and went to them, greeting his little sister with a hug and his fiancé with a kiss on the cheek, as if he wasn’t flirting with a customer a minute ago. Again. 

Mathieu looked at him expectantly, disapproval written all over his face. 

“Go say hi to Céline, sweetie, would you?” Olivier asked Louise, referring to one of their employees to whom Louise had taken a particular liking. Louise gleefully obliged, not sensing the tension between her half-brothers. 

“You know it doesn’t mean anything right? I’m just being friendly… it gets me bigger tips, that’s all” Olivier declared. 

“I know…” Mathieu sighed. “Still, it bothers me”

“It shouldn’t… You’re the only one I love, you know that by now. But, I promise I’ll make an effort to be less flirty” Olivier replied. He had always been flirty, it was hard to stop now. But he would if it was important to Mathieu. 

“Thanks… I know it’s stupid of me but… I can’t help but be jealous” Mathieu admitted. 

“It’s okay sweetie.” Olivier assured him. He then kissed him passionately on the lips. 

“You see, everyone knows I’m yours, so there won’t be a problem” Olivier told him. 

They weren’t hiding their relationship, at all, so most clients knew they were together. The usual ones knew for sure, at least. And Mathieu knew all that, but he was a bit possessive, so what? It never felt nice to see your fiancé flirting with everything that moved. 

“I love you” Olivier smiled. 

“I love you too” Mathieu replied, smiling back at his future husband. 

He couldn’t believe they were going to get married tomorrow. 

“I’ll be in the kitchen” Mathieu told Olivier. 

“Sure” Olivier said before kissing his cheek. 

Mathieu was obviously the cook. Olivier’s cooking skills were truly abysmal, after all. Their restaurant was small and totally unknown, when they had first started, but they had to start somewhere. Now it was really successful and Mathieu had never been this happy, even though some part of him missed the North and the friends he had left behind. Though, of course, he was still seeing Yohan on a regular basis. His best friend had become a PE teacher, so he had plenty of holidays which he could spend at Mathieu and Olivier’s house, with his family. Mathieu was Yohan’s first daughter’s godfather, and it made him want to have children of his own, with Olivier, and he had started seriously thinking about adoption. He hadn’t talked to Olivier about it yet, but he didn’t see why he would be against it. He had always wanted a family too.

However, everything in its own time: now, they were getting married, they would think about adopting later. For now, Mathieu was busy fretting over tomorrow’s ceremony. He really hoped everything would go fine. They had taken the necessary measures for it to flow smoothly, that is to say they had put Marie and Mathieu’s father on opposite sides of the reception room. They weren’t exactly fighting, but each time they saw each other, an awfully tense silence would settle and it made Mathieu feel awkward as hell. He could understand that they wanted nothing to do with each other, considering everything that had happened, but he really didn’t want them ruining the festive atmosphere. He wanted both his mother and his father to be there for one of the most important days of his life, and they’d better behave themselves. He loved them but he wasn’t opposed to serious scolding if they put a toe out of line. 

“Are you okay sweetheart?” Olivier asked as he came to the kitchen to fetch the food he had to serve. 

“Sure… sure” Mathieu replied, focused on what he was cooking. 

“You look pretty tense” Olivier told him. “It’s not about the wedding, is it?” He asked, and it became clear to Mathieu that he was stressing Olivier out. Maybe his stupid fiancé thought that he was having second thoughts or something… after more than seven years of being together. Sure. 

“It’s fine… it’s just that I hope everything will go alright” Mathieu explained. 

“Oh… of course it will, love” Olivier assured, seeming relieved “and if everything’s not perfect, well who cares? If we’re married by the end of the day tomorrow, I don’t care”. 

“You’re awfully sweet, you know?” 

“I know” Olivier replied cheekily. 

“Now go and serve that food before it gets cold” Mathieu admonished with a smile. 

Mathieu was a bit reassured. Olivier always knew what to say to make him feel better, and that was part of why he was marrying him: he knew that they completed each other, and nothing felt more right. 

That night, when he got to bed and cuddled with his future husband, not caring a bit about stupid traditions, Mathieu knew. He knew that they would have a family, share the good and the bad, grow old together, and all the other cheesy things said in wedding vows. And that night, he dreamt of them, three children and a big house with a garden where their kids could play. He dreamt of everything that could be. He dreamt of everything that would be.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr at "clumsy-fox" or "head-in-rainbows"


End file.
